SNS/SHoF Finance Panel: EU initiative on sustainable corporate governance
The EU Commission presented an initiative on sustainable corporate governance during the fall. Swedish institutional investors and companies criticized the initiative. Two weeks before the end of the consultation period, the Finance Panel hosted a discussion about the implications for Swedish business of the proposal.
The initiative aims to improve the EU regulatory framework on company law and corporate governance. It contains proposals on changes in company law regulating company objectives and the composition of the board. The changes are supposed to contribute to reduce short termism and contribute to sustainable development.
28 representatives from Swedish industry and institutional investors have put together their feedback on the initiative to the commission. They believe the initiative will open up to modifications in company law in the member countries. They also believe there is a risk that European companies will suffer from less access to risk capital and lose competitiveness if the proposal is accepted. The proposal undermines incentives for sustainable investments and climate change adjustment.
The Finance Panel is a meeting forum for the financial sector, hosted by SNS and the Swedish House of Finance. Swedish House of Finance (SHOF) at the Stockholm School of Economics is Sweden’s national research center in financial economics.
Participants
Svante Forsberg, Chairman of the Board of StyrelseAkademien Sverige and member of the board of edoDa, an organisation representing 55 000 board representatives in Europe.
Kerstin Hessius, CEO at Tredje AP-fonden
Rolf Skog, Adjunct Professor at University of Gothenburg and expert on corporate law, Ministry of Justice
Per Strömberg, SSE Centennial Professor of Finance and Private Equity at Stockholm School of Economics and SHoF
The meeting was held in Swedish and moderated by Ilinca Benson, Deputy CEO at SNS