Israel Press Release
Annual General Meeting of Credit Suisse Group AG: All Proposals put forward by the Board of Directors Approved
At today's Annual General Meeting of Credit Suisse Group AG in Zurich, shareholders approved all of the proposals put forward by the Board of Directors.
Distribution in cash against reserves from capital contributions
Shareholders approved a distribution in cash against reserves from capital contributions of CHF 0.70 per registered share. The distribution is scheduled to take place on May 16, 2014.
Increase in conditional capital for employee shares
With a majority of 67.68% of votes represented, shareholders approved the increase in conditional capital for the delivery of shares to meet the obligation arising from employee stock option programs in a capital-efficient manner. The existing conditional capital for employee shares will be increased by CHF 1,200,000 (equivalent to 30,000,000 registered shares) to a maximum of CHF 1,641,983.92 (equivalent to 41,049,598 registered shares).
Election of Severin Schwan and Sebastian Thrun as new members of the Board of Directors
Severin Schwan and Sebastian Thrun were both newly elected to the Board of Directors for a term of one year.
Severin Schwan has been CEO of Roche Group since 2008, and a member of its Board of Directors since 2013. Prior to his appointment as Group CEO he served as CEO of Roche's Diagnostics division from 2006 to 2008. Severin Schwan began his career in 1993 in Roche's Corporate Finance area.
Sebastian Thrun is CEO of Udacity, an online university that he co-founded in 2012. While working for Google, he founded the Google X research division. He has worked for the University of Stanford since 2003 as research professor in the area of artificial intelligence and robotics.
Re-election of the Chairman and other members of the Board of Directors
The incumbent Chairman Urs Rohner and the other members of the Board of Directors who were standing for re-election were re-elected for a term of one year.
Election of members of the Compensation Committee
Iris Bohnet, Andreas N. Koopmann, Jean Lanier and Kai S. Nargolwala were elected as Members of the Compensation Committee for a term of one year. Jean Lanier will serve as Chairman of the Compensation Committee for a further year.
Amendments to the Articles of Association to adapt to changes in company law
The proposed amendments to the Articles of Association to implement the provisions of the Swiss Federal Council's Ordinance against Excessive Compensation with respect to Listed Stock Corporations were approved with a majority of 93.36%. As a result, binding votes on the compensation of the Executive Board and the Board of Directors can be held with effect from the 2015 Annual General Meeting.
Further information on the proposed amendments to the Articles of Association can be found in the invitation to the Annual General Meeting and in a separate report of the Board of Directors at:
www.credit-suisse.com/agm
2013 Compensation Report
In a consultative vote, shareholders approved the 2013 Compensation Report with a majority of 81.28% of votes represented.
Statements by Urs Rohner, Chairman of the Board of Directors
Urs Rohner, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Credit Suisse Group, commented: "At today's Annual General Meeting, we signed off on the 2013 financial year and the multiple challenges it presented. We have made significant progress at both a strategic and operational level and are compliant with Basel III regulations. At the same time, we posted an 86% increase in reported pre-tax income to CHF 3.5 billion and increased our net income by 72% compared to the previous year. We generated a return on equity of 13% in our strategic businesses in 2013."
With regard to the approval of all the items on the agenda and the consultative vote on the 2013 Compensation Report, Urs Rohner stated: "We are pleased by the positive voting results. The approval rate of 81.28% for the Compensation Report is an acknowledgment of our prudent compensation policy. The approval of the amendments to the Articles of Association will allow us to hold binding votes on the compensation of the Executive Board and the Board of Directors with effect from the 2015 Annual General Meeting."
With regard to the changes to the Board of Directors, Urs Rohner added: "I am delighted to welcome Severin Schwan and Sebastian Thrun as new members of our Board of Directors. I am convinced that their great experience will help us to systematically execute Credit Suisse's strategy, which is focused on creating value for clients and on innovation. We also said farewell to Walter B. Kielholz and Peter Brabeck-Letmathe today. We owe both of them enormous thanks for the very important contributions they have made, both as Members of the Board of Directors and in the role of Chairman and Vice-Chairman, respectively."
Voting Results
All the voting results together with the speeches of Urs Rohner, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Brady Dougan, Chief Executive Officer, are available on the internet in both English and German at:
www.credit-suisse.com/agm
Composition of the Board of Directors as of May 9, 2014
The composition of the Board of Directors has changed following the elections. The Noreen Doyle and Richard E. Thornburgh were appointed new Vice-Chairs. Noreen Doyle was further appointed Lead Independent Director.
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