It was an ambitious goal when it was set in 2010: triple the percentage of female board directors on corporate boards by 2020. But as this new year dawned, more than three out of every ten directors—30.6%, to be exact—at the 250 largest publicly traded firms in the UK are women. The goal now? Keep…
Tag: international corporate governance
Board of tech group Inex to step down amid governance row
Big corporations are in favor of activism and engagement when they are investors. The entire board of tech group Inex will step down following pressure from some of its leading members, including Google and BT Ireland, arising from a corporate governance row. In an email to members shortly before Christmas, the company confirmed that three…
Asia-Pacific investors more open to ESG investing | The Asset ESG Forum – Environmental, Social & Governance
ESG consideration is gaining more acceptance from investors across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, according to the APAC results released by Franklin Templeton of a comprehensive global study on ESG adoption, implementation and development across institutional and wholesale asset owners globally. The study was conducted by NMG Consulting. ESG considerations gain acceptance Results show investor predisposition…
Dual share structures could erode accountability at the top | Financial Times
George Dallas writes about the possibility of loosening restrictions on dual class stock in the UK. We only disagree with one point — he says it is “ironic” that this is being considered just after the adoption of the robust new UK stewardship code that is the new standard other jurisdictions should aspire to. It…
Stewardship moves beyond box ticking | Minerva-Manifest
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published a new UK Stewardship Code which is due to come into effect on 1 January 2020. The revised Code has set a higher standard for how money is invested on behalf of UK savers and pensioners that the FRC said reflects “the changing expectations of investors and the…
Japan’s Foreign-Investor Screening Risks Undoing Years of Reform – WSJ
The Japanese government’s proposals to tighten screening of foreign investors may keep the country a little safer—at the cost of undoing several years of hard work in improving the investment climate. If proposals published by the Ministry of Finance this week take effect, foreign shareholders would have to inform regulators when their stake in certain…
Breakingviews – Fiddling with bank capital can help the planet – Reuters
Climate change could give fiddling with bank capital a good name. Regulators have spent much of the last decade trying to stop lenders massaging their solvency to boost returns. Yet that same sleight of hand could make a big difference in the fight against global warming. The main job of prudential regulators is to stop…
Shareholder Rights Directive II fact sheet – GOV.UK
New guidelines for UK fund managers: Occupational pension schemes are required to document and disclose online their policy on engaging with investee companies, their investment strategy and their arrangements with asset managers. The Pensions Regulator will update their guidance with regards to engagement, investment strategy and asset manager arrangements. Trustees have an important role to…
Labour vows to hold public inquiry into UK financial sector | Financial Times
An incoming Labour government would launch a public inquiry into Britain’s financial industry to “reveal and root out corruption”, under a plan being drawn up by shadow chancellor John McDonnell. He wants to hold a 12-month public inquiry, set up under the 2005 Inquiries Act, to take evidence under oath into misconduct in the financial…
Bill Winters has undermined good corporate governance | Financial Times
The attack on shareholders by Bill Winters, chief executive of Standard Chartered, for opposing remuneration at the recent shareholder meeting was as unwarranted as it was surprising.While it could easily be dismissed as an individual’s ego bruised by the concerted opposition of nearly 40 per cent of proxies cast against his pay, the wider issues…
