The law is a temporary solution to the current acute situation where general meetings need to be conducted in exceptional circumstances. Euroclear Finland has built elements into its general meeting services that enable companies to promptly carry out non-physical general meetings with minimal special measures needed, in order to make critical decisions such as the dividend payment.
Euroclear Finland’s solution is based on expanding the existing electronic advance voting service. Registered shareholders can give their votes to the agenda items on the internet while enrolling to the meeting. There is also the possibility to give votes by mail, whereupon Euroclear Finland records them as advance votes. The advance votes of nominee registered shareholders, as well as proxy votes given to the company or its agent, are combined with the votes given in the advance voting service. Hence, the voting result covers the votes of all the shareholders who have exercised their voting rights. The company can then carry out the general meeting according to its own preferences, without physical attendance.
”We believe that most shareholders will give their votes through the advance voting service while enrolling to the meeting. Our new service makes it easy and reliable for companies to follow the temporary law in a situation where it is important to verify the legal certainty, while developing new operating models. The exceptional circumstances are bringing changes to the general meeting culture as well. Euroclear Finland has a decades’ long experience in supporting general meetings. In collaboration with our clients, we have been able to create a viable solution for organizing remote general meetings in a very short timeframe. This work gives us a good basis for further developing our general meeting services, responding to the future needs of our clients”, says Anu Puttonen, Chief Business Officer, Euroclear Finland.
The temporary law removes legal uncertainties from both shareholders and companies. The basic rights of shareholders are safeguarded as well as possible in exceptional circumstances, while ensuring the equal treatment of all shareholders. Finnish companies have a large number of foreign nominee registered shareholders, and their rights to vote have to be assured alongside those of the registered shareholders.
Additional information about our services to companies.