Halvor Stenstadvold has decided to resign from the chairmanship of the Board of Directors of Oslo Børs. The background for Mr Stenstadvold’s decision is the discovery that he has broken the regulations on trading for own account by employees and officers of Oslo Børs by late notification of a transaction in shares.
On 1 August this year, Halvor Stenstadvold sold 15,000 shares in Orkla ASA at a price of NOK 108.25. This trade was not reported until 19 September. As the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Oslo Børs, Mr Stenstadvold is subject to the regulations on trading for own account by employees and officers, which include a requirement that transactions in securities listed on Oslo Børs must be reported to the exchange immediately.
Mr Stenstadvold subsequently discovered that this transaction had not been reported in good time, and he then immediately reported the transaction to Oslo Børs. The market surveillance department routinely reported the matter to Kredittilsynet (the Financial Supervisory Authority).
Mr Stenstadvold decided to resign as Chairman once Kredittilsynet pointed out the breach of the regulations.
Kredittilsynet has found that the Chairman breached the regulations on trading for own account by employees and officers. It has also pointed out that by virtue of his appointment, the Chairman has a particular responsibility for maintaining confidence in the market. Moreover, Kredittilsynet has pointed out that through his appointment as an officer of Borregaard Skoger AS, Mr Stenstadvold has a closeness to Orkla that is liable to raise questions about his access to information. Kredittilsynet has pointed out that this problem is underlined by the fact that the Chairman’s sale of shares took place eight days before a stock exchange announcement that led to an extraordinarily large fall in share price. In addition, Kredittilsynet has noted that the sale was for a large holding of NOK 1,600,000.
“Given the role of Oslo Børs, any question of a breach of the rules is a question of confidence in Oslo Børs as a marketplace and in my position as Chairman. The exchange’s officers and management have a heightened responsibility to ensure that reporting satisfies the requirements imposed on participants in the securities market. Against this background, I have decided to tender my resignation”, explains Halvor Stenstadvold, who stresses that neither his appointment at Borregaard Skoger AS nor his previous connection to Orkla gave him any access to inside information in connection with the transaction in Orkla shares.
“This is a very regrettable development, but the Board of Oslo Børs has accepted Mr Stenstadvold’s resignation”, explains Georg Størmer the Deputy Chairman, who now takes on the role of Chairman.
Halvor Stenstadvold was elected to the Board of Oslo Børs in May 2005, and has been Chairman since May 2006. He has made an active contribution to important objectives for Oslo Børs, including the establishment of Oslo Axess and the merger with Verdipapirsentralen. Mr Stenstadvold has also resigned as the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Oslo Børs VPS Holding.
