International Financial Law Review, 13 Aug 2020, SRDII won’t be delayed

https://www.iflr.com/article/b1mxkgkglk3pkx/primer-shareholder-rights-directive-ii quoted ShareSoc, Better Finance and Cliff Weight extensively in its primer on SRD II implementation.

It noted that:

…A second letter co-authored by shareholder rights advocate groups including ShareSoc, the UK Shareholders Association (UKSA), the European Federation of Investors, and Better Finance, argued “It is clear that the pandemic is being used as an excuse to further delay implementation,” the letter reads. “Intermediaries have not been proactive in facilitating voting and communication. At this stage, [they] should already have been prepared and ready to adapt to the new requirements [for example] by establishing task forces sufficiently early to prepare coherent implementation documentation.”

The shareholder associations also argued that a further delay would increase the misalignment with the SRDII provisions that are already in place. “The new rights and obligations around the regulation have been known for about 18 months,” says Demi Derem, general manager of investor communication services at Broadridge Financial Solutions. “Compliance and operational readiness should have been pinned down long before Covid-19 started. The banking sector is also one of the few industries that has been able to work from home successfully throughout the lockdown.”

Earlier this summer, the European Commission put an end to the discussion by formally rejecting the market’s request for a delay…

…Shareholder rights defenders applauded the decision. “This is good news for individual investors,” says Cliff Weight, director at ShareSoc. “We welcome this pragmatic approach from the European Commission, as it’s far too easy for regulators and legislators to dither and delay.”…

Cliff Weight, Director, ShareSoc