Swiss Re proposes 10 percent dividend increase
Leading reinsurer Swiss Re has sought shareholder approval for a ten percent increase in ordinary divided, following newly enforced Swiss regulation.
The Ordinance Against Excessive Compensation at Public Corporations federal regulation, which came into effect on January 1, 2014, requires shareholders to vote annually and separately on the level of compensation to be made to the board of directors, executive board and advisory board.
The suggested 10 percent increase in ordinary dividend to CHF3.85 ($4.40) per share is as well as an additional special dividend of CHF 4.15 ($4.7) per share 1.
Walter Kielholz, Swiss Re chairman, said: "We followed a clear capital management policy over the past few years: growing our regular dividend in line with long-term earnings was our highest priority, followed by business growth where it meets our profitability targets. As a result, Swiss Re has returned more than half of the net income to shareholders each year since 2009. If the dividend proposals are approved by the AGM in 2014, the payout ratio as a percentage of net income will increase to 71 percent from 66 percent in2013."
The regulation also states that the members and the chairman of the board of directors, the members of the compensation committee (who have to be members of the board of directors) and the independent proxy have to be individually elected no later than the second Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the year.
The board has already taken action to make all necessary amendments to Swiss Re’s Articles of Association.
Ahead of the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in April, 2014, the board has also proposed the election of Susan Wagner as a new independent member.
Swiss Re reported a 6 percent increase in net income to $4.4 billion in 2013.
Already registered?
Login to your account
If you don't have a login or your access has expired, you will need to purchase a subscription to gain access to this article, including all our online content.
For more information on individual annual subscriptions for full paid access and corporate subscription options please contact us.
To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.
For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Elliot Field at efield@newtonmedia.co.uk or Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk