The Securities and Exchange Commission has published its final rules which require a “say on pay” (SOP) for companies which have received financial assistance under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The key points are that: The proxy will have to disclose that the company is providing a SOP vote Whether the vote is binding or not Smaller […]
Read MoreThe US Senate has revealed its proposals to overhaul the American financial system through Senator Christopher Dodd’s “Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010”. Across 1,336 pages the Bill outlines a series of remedies which it states will end “too big to fail” and restore responsibility and accountability to the markets. Commentators have observed that the […]
Read MoreIn a 4-1 vote, the Securities and Exchange Commission has approved a series of governance reforms designed to “help investors make more informed voting decisions.” As from 28 February 2010 investors will not only know a great deal more about the directors they are electing, they will also have faster access to voting outcomes with the […]
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced a major policy reversal on shareholder resolutions which is likely to lead to an increase in ESG risk and succession planning-related proposals. In a legal bulletin published this week, the SEC said that companies could no longer automatically exclude CEO succession planning or ESG risk-related resolutions using […]
Read MoreFollowing on from the creation of the SEC’s Investment Advisory Committee, we now have details of its three working sub-committes which will focus on investor education, investor protection, shareholder voting and corporate governance. The SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee is co-chaired by Richard Hisey from AARP Financial and Hye-Won Choi from TIAA-CREF, in consultation with SEC Commissioner […]
Read MoreA regulator’s lot is not a happy one by all accounts. While the UK’s Conservative Party has promised to close the FSA and transfer its duties to the Bank of England if it wins the next election, US regulators at the SEC are having an equally tough time. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s inspector general, H. […]
Read MoreThe SEC’s proposed rule on proxy access is garnering plenty of comments, both in favor of and against, with more than 300 comments filed on the proposal as of Aug. 18, 2009 writes ProxyGovernance’s Scott Fenn. Law professors and law firms are represented prominently among the institutions and individuals commenting. One omnibus comment letter on behalf […]
Read MoreAs previously reported, the SEC is proposing that US proxy voting results should be published within 4 days rather than waiting for the next quarterly return to be lodged, which is the majority practice at the moment. In many parts of the world we now take it for granted that we can see scrutineered voting results […]
Read MoreJust to illustrate the impact of the reformed broker voting rules in the USA, it’s interesting to look at Bank of America’s proxy votes results which were released to the SEC on Friday, 7th August. Last month, the SEC voted to exclude broker votes from all director elections starting 1st January 2010. Earlier this year Bank of […]
Read MoreJudging by this week’s crop of enforcement stories, the US securities regulator, The Securities & Exchange Commission appears to be relaunching itself with renewed vigour. The week of August 3rd to 7th is probably going to go down in history as one of the Commissions busiest and most high profile weeks. Here’s the timeline: 3rd […]
Read More