Last-minute exits of Jalan, Mehta from HDFC show global proxy firms' clout

Two foreign proxy advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis advised shareholders to vote against the reappointment of Deepak Parekh, Bimal Jalan and Bansi Mehta

Two independent directors of Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Bimal Jalan and Bansi Mehta, who had offered themselves for reappointment, pulled out just hours before the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) last week. Since the resolution was not put in motion at the AGM, the results of the e-voting, which would have happened earlier, were not disclosed. 

Even chairman Deepak Parekh, whose continuation of directorship was on the agenda, just about scraped through with 77.36 per cent of the votes, a little more than the 75 per cent required. 

This, experts say, points to the rising clout of foreign proxy