S&P report: Fiat stronger

Standard & Poor's said in a report the governance processes, policies and procedures of Fiat SpA have been considerably strengthened, albeit primarily from a structural point of view, following the group's annual general meeting in June.

The report, "Corporate Governance Overview: Fiat SpA," which considers the key governance issues of ownership, transparency and disclosure and board structure and effectiveness, notes the recent improvements in Fiat's corporate governance, but cautions that some aspects will warrant ongoing observation, the agency said.

"The major improvements emanating from the AGM include the group's strict definition of director independence, the fact that the majority of the board members are independent and the restructuring of several board committees to include a majority of independent members," said S&P governance analyst Xavier Chavee.

"In particular, we consider as very positive that the internal control committee, which complements the board of statutory auditors, is now solely composed of independent directors."

Notwithstanding these significant improvements, S&P said it assessment of Fiat's governance continues to be tempered by the fact that an executive holds the chairman of the board position and no offsetting lead independent director position has been created.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.