Macquarie Group is holding its annual general meeting on Thursday, a year after the so-called "millionaires' factory" received an embarrassing "first strike" over the remuneration of chief executive Shemara Wikramanayake.
If more than 25 per cent of shareholders vote again to reject the company's renumeration report, that'll trigger an automatic board spill resolution that could force Macquarie's leaders to stand for re-election.
The Australian Shareholders' Association plans to vote against the renumeration report, saying the chief executive's compensation package lacks transparency and clear performance hurdles.
However, its attack might be blunted after Ms Wikramanayake revealed ahead of the meeting that she was retiring in November, handing over the reins to the current head of banking Greg Ward.
"The board extends its heartfelt thanks of Shermara, who leaves Macquarie in a strong position," chair Glenn Stevens, a former central bank governor, said.
Ms Wikramanayake made $26.5 million in realised pay in 2025/26, a strong year for Macquarie, which made a $4.8 billion net profit, up 30 per cent from the year before.
But it also ended up repaying around $321 million to thousands of Australian retirement savers following the collapse of the Shield Master Fund, which was included as an investment option on its "wrap" platform used by financial planners.
A bank subsidiary admitted in September it hadn't acted efficiently, honestly and fairly by failing to place Shield on a watch list for heightened monitoring.
Shareholders will also be considering a resolution co-filed by activist group Market Forces and super fund Australian Ethical requesting the bank disclose whether it remains committed to aligning its lending with the global goal of net zero emissions by 2050.
Market Forces says Macquarie has become Australia's most aggressive fossil fuel financier, tripling its oil and gas financing in the past three years while Australia's big four retail banks have reduced their exposure to oil and gas expansion by $8 billion over the same time frame.
"Shareholders are demanding Macquarie explain its contradictory position: how can it support massive new fossil fuel projects that it admits are aligned with catastrophic warming scenarios, while claiming to back the Paris Agreement and a safe climate," said Morgan Pickett, Market Forces' bank policy analyst.
Macquarie executives will also likely face hard questions about plans to replace their current auditor PwC with KPMG Australia, which has been subject to intense scrutiny after the audit giant admitted using confidential customer data to win lucrative auditing contracts.
KPMG Australia's chief executive, chairman and other senior executives have resigned in the wake of the scandal.
Shareholders won't vote on the changeover until the 2027 meeting.
