“New Rules Require Shareholder Approval of Equity Compensation“: That’s the announcement of the Securities and Exchange Commission today which approved new rules proposed and adopted by the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market requiring shareholder approval of equity compensation plans, including stock option plans. The new rules will also require approval for repricings and material plan changes. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman William H. Donaldson provided these comments today:
These rule changes are an important step by our nation’s principal markets. They have responded to the Commission’s call for an increased shareholder voice in the equity compensation practices of listed companies and I applaud them. These changes are part of a broad movement by our markets and the Commission to enhance the corporate governance practices of the companies traded on them. The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market have proposed additional listing standards to strengthen corporate governance, and the Commission looks forward to working with them to complete these efforts on behalf of investors and shareholders.
You can access the new rules here.
CorpLawBlog provides this discussion.