Best governance by a cross-listed company <b>RBC</b>
For a number of years, RBC has been a high performer at the Corporate Governance Awards. The bank won the award for best overall corporate governance – international at the awards in 2017 and 2019.
This year the category was renamed, and RBC was once again victorious – this time winning the award for best governance by a cross-listed company. RBC’s headquarters are in Canada but it has common shares listed on Toronto Stock Exchange, the NYSE and the SIX Swiss Exchange.
It’s clear from looking at RBC’s most recent proxy statement that the governance team is up to date on current best practices. The introductory letter – signed by Kathleen Taylor, the chair of the board, and David McKay, the bank’s president and CEO – uses the company’s 150th anniversary to call out its commitment to long-term value creation. While that may have been the case for all of RBC’s 150-year history, the messaging is updated with emerging trends, such as employee engagement, climate change and stakeholder management.
Last year RBC hired a third-party consultant to identify the skills and experience needed to support the bank’s future strategic objectives. This year it appointed two new board directors. In addition, last year’s efforts to rewrite the proxy circular to provide plain English disclosure have paid dividends: this year’s proxy circular is clearly laid out, easy to navigate and, crucially, easy to read.
The team at Corporate Secretary looks forward to hearing more about how RBC’s governance team navigated the challenges associated with Covid-19 next year.
Partner interview with Scott Mallery, vice president of sales, Diligent