Handelsbanken’s Annual General Meeting 2019
Board
At the annual general meeting on 27 March 2019, the following members of the Handelsbanken Board were re-elected: Jon Fredrik Baksaas, Hans Biörck, Pär Boman, Kerstin Hessius, Jan-Erik Höög, Ole Johansson, Lise Kaae, Fredrik Lundberg, Bente Rathe and Charlotte Skog. Handelsbanken’s new Group Chief Executive, Carina Åkerström, was elected as a new member. Pär Boman was re-elected as Chairman of the Board.
At the subsequent first Board meeting, Mr Fredrik Lundberg was appointed as Vice Chairman of the Board.
Fees
The annual general meeting voted in favour of the nomination committee’s proposal regarding fees to the Board. The fees will be as follows: SEK 3,400,000 to the Chairman, SEK 970,000 to the Vice Chairman and SEK 690,000 to each of the remaining members. For committee work, the following fees per member: credit committee SEK 400,000; remuneration committee SEK 140,000; risk committee SEK 400,000 to members and SEK 450,000 to the chair; and audit committee SEK 400,000 to members and SEK 500,000 to the chair. Board members who are employees of the Bank do not receive a fee.
Auditors
The annual general meeting elected Ernst & Young AB and PricewaterhouseCoopers AB as auditors for the period until the end of the annual general meeting to be held in 2020. These two auditing companies have appointed as auditors in charge Mr Jesper Nilsson (authorised public accountant) for Ernst & Young AB and Mr Johan Rippe (authorised public accountant) for PricewaterhouseCoopers AB.
Dividend
The annual general meeting adopted the Board’s proposal for an ordinary dividend of SEK 5.50 per share. The record day for the dividend is Friday, 29 March 2019. The dividend is expected to be distributed by Euroclear on Wednesday, 3 April 2019.
Acquisition and divestment of the Bank’s own shares
The annual general meeting voted in favour of the Board’s proposal to authorise the Board to resolve on the acquisition and divestment of class A and/or B shares in Handelsbanken. The maximum acquisition that may be made is 120 million shares. The number may be adjusted following certain company actions.
The annual general meeting also voted in favour of the Board’s proposal that, during the period until the next annual general meeting, the Bank, for its securities operations, shall have the right to acquire its own ordinary class A and/or B shares for the Bank’s trading book. The holding of such shares shall not at any time exceed two per cent of all shares in Handelsbanken.
Authorisation for the Board to resolve on issuance of convertible tier 1 capital instruments
The annual general meeting resolved to authorise the Board to issue convertibles during the period until the annual general meeting in 2020, in accordance with the Board’s proposal. The number of shares that may be added upon conversion may not exceed 194,417,516. The number may be adjusted following certain company actions.
Principles for remuneration to executive officers
The annual general meeting approved the Board’s proposal on guidelines for remuneration and other terms of employment for executive officers of Handelsbanken.
Minutes of meeting
Minutes of the annual general meeting will be available on the Bank’s website http://www.handelsbanken.se/ireng approximately two weeks from today’s date.
For more information about Handelsbanken, see: www.handelsbanken.com