"Companies listed on the Spanish stock market have given a warm welcome to the new corporate governance regulations established by the Ley de Transparencia (Transparency Act), which are meant to promote investor protection", said Antonio Zoido during the inauguration of the conference "La Aplicación Práctica de las Recomendaciones de Gobierno Corporativo", which today took place at Bolsa de Madrid. The conference had the collaboration of Instituto de Estudios Económicos, Instituto de Auditores and Deloitte. According to the Chairman of BME, the commitment of listed companies to transparency and information will exceed, in numerous instances, the obligations established by the law. Thus, they will be above the transparency requirements legally established in terms of financial and corporate information.
Zoido claimed that significant progress had been achieved in Spain in terms of corporate governance and that this advancement had been swift but not rushed.
He underscored the importance of clarity in regulation to offer a clear perspective as to what are the right directions that companies must take in the interest of good corporate governance and in order not to disappoint shareholders.
Regarding the practical application of Good Corporate Governance, Antonio Zoido claimed that through the use of Internet-based services, the Spanish Stock Market had implemented a new service which allows all listed companies to answer the disclosure demands envisaged by the Ley de Transparencia. He also stated that "the offer was receiving a warm welcome by listed companies".
Thanks to this service, any company listed on the Spanish Stock Market, which is made up of nearly 3,000, will be able to meet all website-related disclosure requirements established by the law in a simple, dynamic and transparent way. The Spanish Stock Market considers it essential to offer its support in order to help companies comply with the new regulations so that the Spanish market as a whole and not just big corporations, can respond diligently to all questions put forward by the investors.
The new regulations establish that all listed companies must rely on a website which contains, inter alia, the company's Articles of Association, the regulations governing Annual General Meeting and the Board of Directors, the Annual Report as well as Corporate Governance reports and relevant facts, including periodical financial information.
