Svenska Handelsbanken AB

At the general meeting of Svenska Handelsbanken AB, Folketrygdfondet, manager of the Government Pension Fund Norway, voted against item 19 and item 22  for the following reasons:

Item 19: Elect CEO Carina Åkerström as a board member 
Rationale:

Folketrygdfondet opposes the election of the CEO to the board of directors as a matter of
principle. One of the board’s main tasks is the supervision of company management, which
includes appointment and dismissal of the CEO. Folketrygdfondet considers that board members
can only supervise company management adequately if they are not recruited from among
management. For this reason, we voted against item 19.

Item 22: Amendments to the remuneration policy
Rationale:

Folketrygdfondet opposes any type of extra bonus that rewards individuals for actions that are not part of their duties as board members. We believe that the issue of these awards could create a situation wherein members of the board are no longer representing the best interests of the shareholders and may challenge the independence of the board of directors. For this reason, we voted against item 22.
 

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