Amid the stunning scenario experienced by the economic participants today, your nomination represents an important event. We are not talking about your economic view. Neither about the school you graduated from. Nor about your familiarity with the issues of the financial system. For the first time in years, we have a specialist in microeconomics in the Brazilian government. And that’s about it we would like to talk.

On February 26, the Office of the Superintendent of Companies (SEP) of the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) published the 2015 Official Letter with good news for the corporate governance area in the Brazilian capital market.

According to the official letter, the Board of Directors’ report that is usually submitted together with financial statements, shall include information related to the “decisions taken as a result of controlling shareholders’ guidance about the company’s activities,” such as investments, signing of agreements, and pricing policies, among others.

Last December, Amec – the Association of Capital Market Investors – sent a letter to the CVM’s chairman, Leonardo Pereira, expressing its deep contentment with the important decision against bureaucracy and towards the modernization of General Shareholders’ Meetings in Brazil. The regulator established that, according to the law, corporate shareholders, such as investment funds, publicly-held or close corporations, limited liability companies, foundations, associations or investment vehicles, no longer have to grant a power of attorney only to a lawyer or shareholder to participate in the meetings.

On February 22, Pablo Renteria, Master and PhD. in Civil Law from the State University of Rio de Janeiro (Uerj) and MSc. in Law from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-RJ), was nominated the new director of the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) by the president Dilma Rousseff, replacing Otávio Yavbek, whose term in office ended in December, 2013. Renteria’s term in office ends in December, 2018.

In a coordinated move the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) has issued a message to the European Parliament and the Italian Government on the issue of differential voting rights. A further letter will be submitted to French authorities.

ICGN is challenging Amendment 42, Article 3ea, of the Shareholder Rights Directive which introduces mechanisms such as differential voting rights, loyalty dividends, loyalty shares and tax incentives. A letter has also been submitted to the Italian Government calling for provisions outlined in the Growth Decree not to be extended past the sunset date of 31 January. The provisions allow Italian companies to modify their statutes via a simple majority vote in order to introduce double voting rights to shareholders who have owned shares for two years, rather than a supermajority vote as normally required in the Legge Draghi of 1988.

In February, four companies in the energy industry, among which Exxon Mobil, failed in their attempt to prevent shareholders from participating in the new rules on the nomination of directors introduced by New York’s pension funds, what means investors will start to present their proposals in the next session of Shareholders’ Meetings.

Date: July 14-15, 2015
Venue: Fecomercio – Rua Dr. Plinio Barreto, 285, São Paulo, SP
Information: (55 11) 3107.5557 - nilsonjunior@abrasca.org.br