At Swiss Re’s 2022 Annual General Meeting (AGM), held this morning, the reinsurer’s shareholders approved all proposals put forward by the Board of Directors, including the re-election of Sergio Ermotti as Chairman of the Board.
Alongside the re-election of Ermotti, Swiss Re shareholders approved the re-election of all other proposed members of the Board at the 2022 AGM for a one-year term.
Additionally, shareholders approved the election of Deanna Ong as a new member of the Compensation Committee, while the constitutional meeting of the Board also saw Renato Fassbind re-appointed as Vice Chairman and as Lead Independent Director.
At the same time, Raymond Ch’ien did not stand for re-election and stepped down as a member of the Board, in line with the new 12-year tenure limit.
Ermotti commented: “When I took office a year ago, I emphasised that Swiss Re needed to strengthen its resilience to meet the expectations of investors, clients and employees. Over the last year, this has been our top priority, focusing on high-quality portfolio and margins in our Reinsurance business, the successful turnaround of Corporate Solutions, and the continued growth at iptiQ.
“We have achieved important interim goals on our way to sustainably strengthen Swiss Re’s long-term earnings power, and I am convinced that we can improve our performance even further in the future.”
With a majority of 99.1%, shareholders today also approved the proposal of the Board to pay out an ordinary dividend of CHF 5.90 per share for the 2021 financial year. This is at the same level as the prior year’s distribution and reflects Swiss Re’s very strong capital position and capital management priorities, says the firm.
The reinsurer explains that the dividends will be paid out of voluntary profit reserves and will be distributed beginning April 21st, 2022. From April 19th, 2022, Swiss Re shares will be traded ex-dividend.
Today also saw shareholders of Swiss Re approve the maximum aggregate amount of compensation for the members of the Board of Directors for the one-year term until the completion of the 2023 AGM with more than 86% of the votes cast. And, for the 2021 financial year, shareholders approved the aggregate amount of variable short-term compensation for the members of the Group Executive Committee, with 88.7% of votes cast.
Furthermore, shareholders also approved the maximum aggregate amount of fixed compensation and variable long-term compensation for the members of the Group Executive Committee for the 2023 financial year, with 87.8% of votes cast. Additionally, notes Swiss Re, in a consultative vote, the shareholders approved the 2021 Compensation Report with 91.1% of the votes cast.
This year’s AGM also included a formal commitment from the Board of Directors to raise the female representation at Board level to at least 30% by the 2023 AGM, in line with Swiss Re’s diversity, equity and inclusion strategy.
