Owing to the distinctive traits of the shareholder base and governance structures of cooperative banks, we paid special attention to the mechanisms for appointing their governing boards, aiming to maintain their strengths (social responsibility, close ties with households and the productive fabric) and curb the risk of management being excessively self-referential.
In keeping with the spirit of mutualism and the egalitarian principle underlying these banks’ structures, we promoted voting mechanisms capable of giving voice to significant minorities among shareholders; favoured an enlargement of proxy voting; and suggested other instruments to enable more effective participation by shareholders. Significant, if uneven, progress has been made; but more remains to be done.