The board of BNK Financial Group said it would gather major shareholders' proposals to improve governance and review future directions for reform.
On Jan. 15, the board of BNK Financial Group said it held a meeting with major shareholders and discussed these matters. The board chair and outside directors attended in person, answered shareholders' questions, and discussed ways to improve governance.
Major shareholders proposed formally introducing a system (procedure) for public nominations of outside directors by shareholders, working to make a majority of outside directors nominees recommended by shareholders, composing the Nominating Committee entirely of outside directors, and accepting public nominations of outside director candidates through the company's website. The board said it agreed with shareholders' views on reforming governance and would review the proposals positively.
They also agreed to prioritize adopting various reform measures expected from the financial authorities' governance improvement task force (TF) to advance BNK Financial's governance.
BNK Financial Group will disclose the governance reform directions discussed at the meeting on its website and, to ensure effective implementation, will accept outside director candidate nominations on the website through Jan. 30 while strengthening fairness in the selection process. Candidates publicly nominated for outside director will be reviewed by the Nominating Committee for expertise and independence with respect for shareholders' intent, then be finalized as nominees to be listed as agenda items for the formal shareholders meeting and disclosed transparently.
A BNK Financial Group official said, "This shareholder meeting is a declaration of BNK Financial's intent to put shareholder value first, as the board held multifaceted discussions with shareholders on improving governance," and added, "Along with what we discussed today, we will take the lead in adopting the governance reform TF's measures that will become visible going forward to serve as the starting point for governance innovation."