☰

M. Continuo

U.S. SEC proposes aiding shareholders' proxy access


    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed on Wednesday to give shareholders greater power to nominate corporate board directors, a process now tightly controlled by company management.

    The SEC voted 3-2 to propose two approaches aimed at giving shareholders an easier way to influence the composition of the board -- an issue also known as proxy access.

    One approach would let shareholders who own 1 percent to 5 percent of a company's stock for at least one year nominate directors.

    The other approach would amend a federal rule that sets guidelines for whether a company's management can exclude shareholder proposals from the proxy.

    (Reporting by Rachelle Younglai; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)