Some 18 Japanese companies are known to have disclosed the results of their 2009 AGMs on their corporate websites, in what is an improvement from two companies on 2008 according to Sumitomo Trust. Japanese regulators are expected to introduce a rule on disclosure of proxy voting results ahead of Japan’s 2010 AGM season. The data […]
Read MoreUS investors concerned about the delays in the official announcements of voting results are not waiting for the SEC or New York Stock Exchange to make new rules but are taking matters into their own hands. Just as in Europe, best practice about voting results disclosure is extremely variable but proposals submitted by the New […]
Read MoreTimes City diarist Martin Waller asks “Is this the most spectacularly incompetent annual meeting ever?” referring to DataCash plc’s 10th June AGM which sought authorities for share issues and dis-application of pre-emption rights significantly outside the best practice guidelines. Martin tells us that “The company was forced to issue a shamefaced note yesterday admitting that […]
Read MoreShareholders in European banks are making their presence felt after being criticised for their failure to raise the alarm over risky practices or oppose management in the period before the financial crisis. The average proportion of shares represented at the annual meetings of 12 of Europe’s largest banks rose from 46% last year to 52% […]
Read MoreThe results of the voting at the AGM and GM of Lloyds Banking Group held today have now been released by the Company and show that, after the Government holding of 7,277,204,386 shares is excluded, over a third of the remaining shareholders who cast their votes at the AGM failed to vote in favour of […]
Read MoreAt today’s AGM of Tomkins plc (FTSE 250 constituent), only 38.8% of shareholders voted in favour of the remuneration report resolution. Measured in terms of dissent (61.2%), the rebellion against the remuneration report ranks just outside the top ten all-time for such resolutions, however the resolution did manage to pass. The dissent was split between […]
Read MoreNine leading US pension funds have announced that they will be disclosing their voting intentions for shareholder meetings on a new web portal, ProxyDemocracy. AFSCME Employees Pension Plan, CalPERS, CalSTRS, Calvert Investments, Christian Brothers Investment Services, Domini Social Investments, the Florida State Board of Administration, Green Century and Trillium Asset Management are making their individual proxy […]
Read MoreTUI’s Hanover AGM was finally closed by the chairman at 21:00 on 13 May having started at noon. Monteray Enterprises, TUI’s largest shareholder, failed in its efforts to remove two members of Supervisory Board; appoint two representatives of Monteray to the Supervisory Board; and to request two ‘Special Audits’. According to the official results, turnout at the meeting […]
Read MoreAlmost 14 years since European markets firmly embraced the concept of separating the role of Chair/CEO, most US issuers are still contemplating what it means for them. That could be set to change following the success of trade union SEIU’s proposal to reform the Bank of America board. The proposal to amend BoA’s bylaws requiring an independent […]
Read MoreHong Kong is not generally noted for its progressive corporate governance regime. Critics have argued that its weak regulatory system has long favoured powerful tycoons. However, in a rare and dramatic turn of events, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has won its fight at the Court of Appeal to block PCCW chairman Richard […]
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