UK investors turn up the heat on boards

LONDON – Institutional investors in the UK on Friday issued new guidelines to strengthen shareholder activism, stepping up the pressure on under-fire company boards.

The Institutional Shareholders Committee (ISC), whose members collectively hold more than US$1,5 trillion (N$19,2 trillion) in assets, wants investors to combine forces to drive change on major corporate governance issues.
The guidelines are designed to feed into the current Walker Review of corporate governance in banks and into the Financial Reporting Council’s review of the combined code on corporate governance.
Institutional investors have come under fire from regulators and politicians for failing to demand greater accountability from firms, especially banks, in the aftermath of the crisis.
The ISC’s new proposals could see company chairmen facing annual votes for re-election if support for key committee chairmen dropped below 75 per cent.
-Business Report