Green Dot Board Nominee Debate Heats Up

In a continuance of a battle over board of director nominees, Green Dot (GDOT) is taking its fight to the masses.

As has been reported, the firm has been locked in a war of words against holder Harvest Capital, which has been agitating for its own nominees and charging fiduciary negligence at Green Dot.

On Thursday (May 12), another salvo came, as GDOT publicly disagreed with analysis from Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) tied to the board of director vote slated for later this month.

To perhaps the surprise of no one, GDOT is recommending the election of its own, homegrown slate of directors, with a roster that includes Steven W. Streit, Michael Moritz and Timothy R. Greenleaf.

In its release, GDOT said that it disagrees with the ISS recommendation that the Harvest nominees be elected, stating that its own slate is “critical for us to continue the successful execution of our Six-Step Plan that is already creating significant shareholder value.”

“Replacing three of the board’s 10 directors — including Green Dot’s chairman and chief executive officer — with Harvest’s nominees introduces material and unnecessary risk that could derail Green Dot’s strategy for long-term value creation. It is the wrong move at the wrong time and puts the future at risk for stockholders.”

Shareholders, continued Green Dot, should consider that the company’s common shares are up 22 percent in the wake of fourth quarter earnings, with attendant growth in financial performance that has been attributed by management to its Six-Step Plan.