“In order for a gatekeeper to be able to fulfill his role properly, a suitable envelope must be created for him that will allow him to exercise his discretion without being subjected to irrelevant pressures. One of the components is the liability insurance of the company’s officers, which has increased significantly.” This is what the chairman of the Securities Authority said yesterday Anat Guetta, Who spoke at the annual conference of the Association of Directors and Public Companies.
Guetta clarified that “following the reduction of insurance coverage and the increase in deductibles, the Ministry of Justice is trying to find a solution to the problem. This is not a phenomenon unique to Israel. “The same will be paid by him. In order to ensure the proper functioning of the market, a similar solution must be found with us. The current situation is unlikely.”
Anat Guetta, Chairman of the Securities Authority (Photo: Gideon Markovich)Guetta added that “following the dispersal of the controlling nuclei on the Israeli stock exchange, a transformation in the role of director must be led. Who proposes and who appoints directors? Who controls? .
The chairman of the authority explained that “in practice the power passes to the distributed shareholders, represented by the institutional bodies. This is not a simple situation for the new directors. The horizon of interest also changes. “The controlling shareholders had a long breathing horizon, while the new controlling shareholders changed the price of the stock very much, because they are measured by the returns they produce.”
Moshe Barkat, Head of the Capital Market (Photo: Yonatan Zindel, Flash 90)The conference was also attended by the Commissioner of the Capital Market, Moshe Barkat, who commented on the sale of Psagot to Altshuler Shaham. “If the move is successful, and a large and competitive body is created with the insurance companies, then the investment house should be subject to some regulatory oversight. I do not take powers I do not have, but when the oversight is done from above it has an advantage.”
Barkat added that “the entry of the international consulting firm ISS into Israel will allow institutional consulting to be provided, without fear of a conflict of interest. The investment committees will reflect the public interest and the colleagues, but will not replace the portfolio manager.”