Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Shareholder Committee Campaign

ShareSoc and UKSA have now paused this campaign because RBS are now engaging better with shareholders and have announced a programme of 4 events a year specifically focussed on engagement with individual shareholders. You can find further details here: RBS Shareholder Committee Campaign – Update 17

ShareSoc has advocated the implementation of Shareholder Committees since our inception in 2011. Recently this initiative has received support in the form of the Government’s November 2016 Green Paper on Corporate Governance, and in the form of Chris Philp M.P.’s September 2016 paper entitled Restoring Responsible Ownership.

ShareSoc has decided to focus on RBS as a complex enterprise whose governance would benefit from the adoption of a Shareholder Committee.

ShareSoc has submitted resolutions to the RBS AGMs requesting the implementation of an RBS Shareholder Committee.

If you want to prevent further failures at RBS by creating a Shareholder Committee, please support this initiative.

Quick links

Please join the campaign by completing the form here, if not already a campaign member.

View updates on the campaign here

Background Information

Shareholder Committees

The primary role of the Shareholder Committee is to improve the agency model of corporate governance by increasing the engagement and oversight of Shareholders in the operation of the companies owned by them.
ShareSoc have been campaigning for many years for the establishment of Shareholder Committees. ShareSoc have written a detailed paper on the subject. See Shareholder-Committees.
The MP, Chris Philp, wrote an excellent paper on shareholder committees in Sept 2016 and this has received wide publicity. See Responsible Ownership. ShareSoc have a number of concerns about the practicalities of a few of his suggestions and are in the process of writing to him to explain how the Shareholder Committee can best be implemented.
The Nov 2016 Government Green Paper on Corporate Governance mentions Shareholder Committees as a way forward that could be mandated or could be adopted via the UK Corporate Governance Code or voluntarily. See Green Paper.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)

RBS is a hugely underperforming company and since 2007, long term investors have lost 95% of the value of their investment, largely due to failures in corporate governance.. RBS is 62.4% owned by the Government via UKGI, so it is important to all the people in the UK that RBS has good corporate governance. Therefore, RBS should be in the forefront of adopting Shareholder Committees.
We are submitting a resolution to the AGM. Legally, we can do this so long as we have over 100 shareholders supporting the motion who hold collectively 10,000 RBS shares (about £24,000 at today’s price).

Other Companies

ShareSoc hope that other companies will follow our RBS example but voluntarily adopt Shareholder Committees. If companies resist, then it is our intention to submit AGM resolutions to other companies.

Proposed Resolution

Our resolution for the 2019 AGM is available here.

Updates

Regular updates on the RBS Campaign will be posted on this web page and on the ShareSoc blog.

Update 1 30/12/2016. This press release was issued on the day of the submission of the Requisition to RBS: Press085 . The final version of the resolution as submitted to RBS is present in this document: RBS-AGM-Resolution.

Update 2 01/02/2017. This press release was issued after RBS unreasonably rejected ShareSoc’s requisition for an AGM Resolution: Press087

Update 3 11/03/2017. This update was sent to all campaign supporters: Update-3.

FT Article 01/04/2017. The Financial Times have published an article on the refusal of RBS to put a resolution to the AGM on shareholder committees. See this blog post for commentary on it.

Please write to the Chairman of RBS to support the requisition. A suggested letter you could use as a template is present here: Letter-to-Chairman

Update 4 Press Release 11/04/2017. ShareSoc issued this press release giving voting recommendations for Annual General Meeting of RBS: Press093

Update 5 16/06/2017. RBS Shareholder Committee Campaign: Click here to read.

RBS Shareholder Event 26/07/2017. An event for individual shareholders has been organised. Read more here.
Click Here to read Cliff Weight’s report about how badly it went.

Update 6 21/10/2017. RBS Snub to Chris Philp MP and next steps – Click here to read.

Update 7 26/10/2017. ShareSoc send Open letter to RBS Board which is reported on in CityAM: http://www.cityam.com/274595/investor-group-chastises-rbs-toothless-approach-corporate

Update 8 05/12/2017. ShareSoc to requisiton a new resolution for a shareholder committee for the RBS 2018 AGM: https://www.sharesoc.org/sharesoc-news/rbs-firing-line-sharesoc-renews-campaign/

Update 9 13/12/2017. An update on our requisitions for RBS’s 2018 AGM: https://www.sharesoc.org/blog/corporate-governance/rbs-campaign-update-9-progress-13122017/

Update 10 29/12/2017. 161 forms submitted, press release issued and huge media coverage: https://www.sharesoc.org/sharesoc-news/rbs-campaign-update-10-161-forms-submitted-press-release-issued-huge-media-coverage/

Update 11 14/2/2018. We’ve (almost) won! : https://www.sharesoc.org/sharesoc-news/rbs-shareholder-committee-weve-almost-won/

Update 12 29/4/2018. AGM Voting recommendations, remuneration and campaign update: https://www.sharesoc.org/sharesoc-news/rbs-agm-voting-update-12/

Update 13 8/7/2018. AGM result and subsequent publicity: https://www.sharesoc.org/sharesoc-news/rbs-agm-result-and-subsequent-publicity/

Update 14 1/1/2019. Resolution has been submitted. See RBS Campaign Update 14 for further details.

Update 15 1/4/2019. Resolution has been accepted and is on the AGM agenda. See RBS Campaign Update 15 for further details.

Update 16 23/9/2019. Report on RBS Shareholder Engagement Event on 10 Sep 2019. See https://www.sharesoc.org/blog/meetings-for-investors/rbs-shareholder-event-10-september-2019/ for further details

Update 17 15/12/2019. Campaign paused. See RBS Campaign Update 17 for further details.

Update 18 17/4/2020. 2020 AGM Voting Recommendations. See RBS Campaign Update 18 for further details.

For more information on ShareSoc, go here: About

If you wish to make a voluntary contribution to support the costs of running this campaign please go to this page of our web site: Donations. Alternatively we do recommend a paid subscription to ShareSoc which gives you many other benefits.

JOIN THE RBS SHAREHOLDER COMMITTEE CAMPAIGN

Please use the form below to join this campaign (you will receive confirmation by return within 48 hours). You will be given free Associate Membership of ShareSoc unless you opt not to receive it, if you are not already a member of ShareSoc. Note that you may omit your telephone number, if you prefer not to disclose it, but we do need an email or postal address as we may need to send you forms for signature if we requisition an EGM or resolutions. It also helps us to know the number of shares in RBS you hold.

If you do not currently own any RBS shares, we can give you 1 share so you can join and support the campaign. Please tick the box in the form below to request us to give you 1 share.

Post Date: December 30, 2016

RBS Campaign

Name (First/Last)*
Address*
Town/City*
County
Country
Postcode*
Telephone
E-mail Address*
Member Id
No ShareSoc Membership
- Tick this box if you do not wish to receive free Associate Membership of ShareSoc.
Number of shares held
How Shares Held*
- My shares are in a nominee account
- I am a directly registered shareholder
- I am not currently a shareholder, please give me a RBS share so that I can support the campaign
Please choose one of the above options. Note that most shareholders' shares are held in nominee accounts. This is mandatory if your shares are in an ISA or a SIPP. Your shares are only directly registered if you have a paper share certificate or if you hold them in a personal CREST Account. If you have shares both directly registered and in a nominee account, please select "directly registered".
For more on understanding nominee accounts, visit this page. If you're still not sure how your shares are held, please contact us for assistance

Group description:	Our group is interested in sustainable investing and our goal is to identify and evaluate businesses that will thrive through innovation and their transition to a ‘One Planet Economy’. By leveraging the skills of group members, we aim to deeply understand these businesses, particularly focusing on how they develop long-term valuable benefits for their customers. Each year, we plan to evaluate around seven businesses to identify opportunities where our valuation exceeds the market price. A successful outcome is defined as achieving a compound annual growth rate (CAGR), including dividends, of 10% over a decade.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Meetings are in-person in a pub near to Waterloo station in London.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Meetings are bi-monthly on a Monday from 10:45am to 4:30pm. Members are expected to also pay for their own lunch which secures the group free use of a private room in the pub. The cost is expected to be £35-40 per person, per meeting, in addition to your SIGnet membership fee.

Group description:	SIGnet Taunton is a new group with around 10 keen members at present, with a range of investment styles and experience. We welcome new members.
Meeting Type/Venue:	In person meetings at a golf club near to the centre of Taunton.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	We meet on the first Monday of every month at a golf club near to the centre of Taunton, 11am until 3pm with a lunch break.

Group description:	An online group for those who are new to investing, or have only been investing for a few years. Including topics such as: – What is a share or a bond, why and how to buy them. – Comparing funds, unit trusts, Investment trusts and exchange traded funds. – Portfolio management and diversification. – ISAs, pensions, SIPPS and how to save tax. – How terms such as PE ratio and dividend yield are used to value a share. – How to use technical analysis or charting.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Online using Zoom.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Meetings are usually held on the last Monday of the month at 7:00pm.

Group description:	An online group for those who already have some experience in investing. Covering topics such as finding companies to invest in, financial statements and ratios, valuation / margin of safety, analysis of companies and investment trusts and exchange traded funds.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Online using Zoom.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Meetings are usually held on the last Wednesday of the month at 7:00pm.

Group description:	The Equity Income Group welcomes investors of all levels of experience, from beginners to advanced. The focus of meetings is on dividend paying Investment Trusts, though there is also discussion around individual shares.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Meetings are held online.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Meetings are held every 6 weeks on a weekday between 7 and 8:30pm.

Group description:	A welcoming group open to all types of investors. Typical meeting content is to have a deep dive presentation on a topic selected by the participants and a session on buy/ sell/ key lessons learnt last month.
Meeting Type/Venue:	In person at a friendly pub close to Piccadilly Circus
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Monthly during the evening on the first Wednesday of the month.

Group description:	All levels of experience welcome. A typical meeting agenda includes: – Macro Environment – Trades: Members review existing positions and identify securities with promising TA entry patterns or setups and with suitable risk/reward. Any security, long, short, futures, options may be considered. The convener takes actual positions in trades and maintains his own detailed ledger, accurately measuring performance of individual securities and cumulative activity. Members are notified by e-mail prior to the entries or exits that are decided upon. Following each meeting an updated copy of the ledger is circulated together with the next meeting agenda. Members may wish to maintain similar ledgers of their own but there is no obligation to do so. – Technical Analysis: Techniques and systems used in trades. Members can request discussion of particular aspects of TA.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Online via Zoom
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	The first Tuesday of every month from 7 to 9pm

Group description:	Open to all investors / people with an interest in investing. Typical meeting will involve members talking about recent purchases, successes, failures and possible future purchases. Also with occasional visiting speakers or members making presentations on a topic of interest.
Meeting Type/Venue:	We aim to meet on the last Tuesday of each month in a private room at a pub in Playhatch. Start time 7pm with members encouraged to meet up around 6pm for a bite to eat / drink before hand, if their diaries allow.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	7pm on the last Tuesday of the month. Meetings likely to last about two hours but with informal ‘overspill’ before / after.

Group description:	Group focused on active investing, primarily in small / medium cap UK equities.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Regular Zoom meetings interspersed with occasional face to face meetings and social activities in the North West.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Monthly on Saturdays at 10am.