NYSE Agrees Corporate Governance And Board Changes

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

20 November 2003

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) announced on Tuesday that its members have approved plans to effectively alter the constitution of the exchange, in the wake of concerns over its structure and corporate governance.

According to the NYSE:

"The members (have) approved the establishment of an independent board of directors with full fiduciary responsibility to supervise regulation, governance, compensation and internal controls."

"The board of directors will appoint a board of executives composed of constituent representatives who will meet regularly and develop recommendations on NYSE marketplace operations, membership issues, listed company issues, and public issues relating to market structure and performance."

"The board of directors will also appoint a Chief Regulatory Officer who will report to the board's Regulatory Oversight Committee, not the Exchange's CEO."

Separately, the exchange's 1,366 members also approved the appointment of eight individuals to serve on the board of directors.

These were: Madeleine Albright and Herbert Allison Jr (both holdovers from the old NYSE board), Euan Baird, Marshall Carter, Shirley Ann Jackson, James McDonald, Robert Shapiro, and Sir Dennis Weatherstone.

If the changes and appointments are approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the new board wil be tasked with appointing 12-18 executives to represent the interests of the finance industry.

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