MELBOURNE, Dec 15 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A vote of nearly 29% against Westpac’s (WBC.AX) executive compensation is more serious than it looks. Australian corporate governance rules dictate that shareholders can eject the board if a quarter or more of them reject pay proposals again next year, but this year’s ballot also reinforces how precarious Peter King’s position as chief executive is becoming. He’s only two years into the role, having been promoted from finance chief after the bank took a bruising from a major regulatory investigation. King is struggling to fix many problems, not least of which are high costs . They helped restrain return on equity to just 7.7% in the 12 months to Sept. 30. King wants to slash A$3 billion ($2.1 billion) of A$11 billion in annual core expenses by 2024, but so far has only provided an “illustrative pathway”. Westpac’s stock price is up 8% this year, the worst performance among the country’s big four, and trades barely above its expected book value, per Refinitiv. If that doesn’t improve quickly, King will be dethroned. (By Antony Currie) Follow @Breakingviews on Twitter Capital Calls - More concise insights on global finance: Silver Lake targets an early lead in Aussie soccer read more Chanel’s CEO pick is sign it will shun the bourse read more German deal puts high price on Silver Lake network read more Patent blow leaves AutoStore bloodied in robot war read more Mr Big is smallest of Peloton’s problems read more