Congress is currently considering whether to incorporate into financial reform legislation a variety of corporate governance changes. One such change under consideration involves directing the Securities and Exchange Commission to formulate rules allowing broader access to issuer proxies with the intention of permitting dissident shareholders to nominate alternative candidates for corporate boards. ABC has already filed a comment letter to the SEC on this matter. We also address the issue –and our skepticism about Congress enacting corporate governance “reforms” — in this letter to Senator Michael Crapo of the Senate Banking Committee.
Archive for March, 2010
Proxy Access and Midsize Companies
Friday, March 12th, 2010Hoyer on the U.S. Fiscal Crisis
Thursday, March 4th, 2010Earlier this week, at Brookings, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer gave a notable speech on our looming national debt and the need to take bipartisan action on spending and taxes to address this growing problem. The talk was notable for its lack of partisan rancor — always welcome — and, in particular, for Leader Hoyer’s willingness to tackle some politically charged issues such as middle class entitlements. Along with the important work Republican Congressman Paul Ryan is doing on budget reform, Mr. Hoyer’s efforts are welcome and ought to be of particular interest to the business community — a community that has been notably silent in recent years on fiscal issues. His Brookings talk can be found here.
More on Client Directed Voting
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010The American Business Conference (ABC) continues to press the need for policies to encourage individual shareholders to take a more active role in the governance of the corporations whose stock they own. One way for that to happen is through the implementation of client directed voting (CDV). This article, published in the Harvard Law School’s Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation and written by Frank Zarb, Jr., a Washington securities attorney, and ABC’s president, John Endean, makes the case for CDV yet again.
Effective Business Advocacy in Washington
Monday, March 1st, 2010What should a company contemplating opening an office in Washington consider as part of its decision-making process? It is a hot issue given the rapid expansion of the federal government into every aspect of business affairs.
Recently, ABC’s president, John Endean, gave a talk at Wharton about effective business representation in Washington. A summary of his remarks were published in Directors and Boards and can be found here.