Ban on political spending will appear on BofA ballot

A shareholder proposal that would ban the use of Bank of America corporate funds for political purpose will appear on the bank's upcoming annual meeting ballot.

Filed by advocacy group United for a Fair Economy, the proposal targeted spending like Bank of America's $5 million given to a committee associated with the Democratic National Convention last year or its contributions to industry groups that give to political campaigns.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/01/25/3812914/bank-of-america-battling-stockholder.html#storylink=cpy

Bank of America had fought its inclusion, claiming it was too vague and was too similar to a different shareholder proposal already going on the ballot. The Securities and Exchange Commission ruled otherwise.

Another shareholder proposal, which would require Bank of America executives to maintain a "significant percentage of shares" received as annual compensation until they reach normal retirement age. The goal was to focus executives' attention on long term stock performance.

The bank had fought that proposal as well, saying existing policies covered the topic well enough.

Proposals like these are regularly included on the bank's annual ballot, but rarely gain traction.