Backing for CBA exec pay

THE Commonwealth Bank has secured the support of shareholders for its executive pay package, avoiding another stinging backlash that may have culminated in a clean-out of the board.

At the group’s annual meeting yesterday, 92.14 per cent of votes were cast in support of the group’s remuneration report. It came a year after the CBA suffered the ignominy of being the first major Australian lender to suffer a “strike” over its executive pay packages – then clocking in at a combined $44 million.

More than 50 per cent of shareholders voted against the remuneration report last year, far exceeding the 25 per cent threshold required to deliver a strike. BUSINESS software group MYOB will buy rival Reckon’s accounting business for $180 million.

MYOB chief Tim Reed says he expects the purchase of Reckon’s Accountant Group assets – which include taxation and financial reporting soft-