Westpac shareholders will be asked to consider a pair of provocative resolutions lobbed by the activist group Market Forces at its annual meeting in mid December.
Market Forces and environmental activists have for years attempted to use the AGMs of big banks to stir their boards and managements into harsher policies that will ration credit to the oil, gas and coal sectors.
This time, Market Forces propose two resolutions:
The first proposes an amendment to the Constitution to allow a general meeting to “express an opinion”, provided any such resolution “relates to a material risk”.
The second resolution seeks “further disclosure addressing whether all ‘fossil fuel companies’ will be required to have transition plans in place by September 2025 … How Westpac will assess such plans for alignment with the bank’s definition of a credible transition plan.”