Transparency and stakeholder trust are important to us. Observance of and compliance with the provisions of the Austrian Code of Corporate Governance therefore play an important role in Vienna Insurance Group.
The Austrian Code of Corporate Governance was introduced in 2002 and is amended periodically to account for changes in the law and current trends. It is the standard for good corporate governance and control in Austria. The provisions of the Code contribute to the strengthening of trust in the Austrian capital market, and the report that companies are required to publish on compliance with these provisions requires a high level of transparency.
Vienna Insurance Group views corporate governance as a continuous process that changes in response to new conditions and current trends and must be continuously improved for the benefit of the Group and all its stakeholders. The goal of all Corporate Governance measures is to ensure responsible corporate management aimed at long-term growth while simultaneously maintaining effective corporate control.
The Vienna Insurance Group Managing Board, Supervisory Board and employees all consider observance of and compliance with the rules of the Austrian Code of Corporate Governance to be highly important for the practical implementation of corporate government. The Vienna Insurance Group's declaration of adherence to the Code, discussions regarding the areas of deviation, and detailed information on the composition of, procedures followed by, and the compensation of the Managing Board and Supervisory Board are clearly organized and presented below.
Vienna Insurance Group is committed to the application of and compliance with the July 2012 version of the Austrian Code of Corporate Governance. The rules are divided into the following three categories:
- Rules based on mandatory legal requirements (“Legal requirements”).
- Rules based on standard international requirements. Non-compliance with these rules must be declared and explained in order to comply with the Code (“Comply or explain”).
- Rules that merely possess the character of recommendations. Non-compliance with these rules need not necessarily be disclosed or explained (“Recommendations”).
The Austrian Code of Corporate Governance is available to the public both on the Vienna Insurance Group website at www.vig.com/ir and on the website of the Austrian Working Group for Corporate Governance.
The Vienna Insurance Group complies with all of the “legal requirements” of the Austrian Code of Corporate Governance as required by law. Vienna Insurance Group deviates from one “comply or explain” rule, as explained below:
Rule 41:
The Supervisory Board shall set up a nomination committee. In cases of Supervisory Boards with no more than six members (including employee representatives), this function may be exercised by all members jointly. The nomination committee submits proposals to the Supervisory Board for filling positions that become free in the Managing Board and deals with issues of successor planning.
Explanation: Because of its special importance, the issue of successor planning is handled by the Supervisory Board as a whole. The Vienna Insurance Group Supervisory Board has therefore not established a nomination committee.