Corporate Governance Code

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Corporate Governance Code 2020

The Securities Market Association maintains the Corporate Governance Code for listed companies. The Corporate Governance Code is a collection of recommendations on good corporate governance and reporting for listed companies. The recommendations supplement the legislation on listed companies.

Corporate Governance Code 2020 in English

pdf 515 KB

Hallinnointikoodi 2020 suomeksi

pdf 496 KB

Finsk kod för bolagsstyrning 2020 på svenska

pdf 525 KB

Instructions for the application of the Code, statements and recommended decisions by the Market Practice Board and old versions of the Corporate Governance Code can be found at the bottom of this page.

About the Corporate Governance Code

The Corporate Governance Code is a collection of recommendations on good corporate governance for listed companies. The recommendations of the Corporate Governance Code supplement the obligations of legislation. The purpose of the Corporate Governance Code is to maintain and promote the high quality and international comparability of corporate governance practices of Finnish listed companies. Good corporate governance supports the value creation and attractiveness of Finnish listed companies as targets for investments.

The purpose of the Corporate Governance Code is to standardise the practices of listed companies and promote transparency in corporate governance and remuneration. From the perspective of shareholders and investors, the Corporate Governance Code increases the transparency of corporate governance and the possibilities for shareholders and investors to assess the practices followed by individual companies. The Corporate Governance Code also allows investors to form an overall understanding of acceptable corporate governance practices in Finnish listed companies.

The first recommendation on the governance of listed companies in Finland was issued in 1997 by Finland Chamber of Commerce and the Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers (now the Confederation of Finnish Industries). In 2003, the same parties together with Hex Corporation (now Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd) issued a recommendation on the corporate governance of listed companies. Responsibility for maintaining the Corporate Governance Code was transferred to the Securities Market Association when the association was founded in 2006. Since then, the Corporate Governance Code has been revised in 2008, 2010, 2015 and 2019. The current Corporate Governance Code entered into force on 1 January 2020.

The Market Practice Board of the Securities Market Association interprets and issues recommended decisions and opinions on the application of the Corporate Governance Code upon request or on its own initiative. The Corporate Governance Code has been incorporated into the regulations of Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. When interpreting the Corporate Governance Code, the Market Practice Board consults Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd where necessary in order to facilitate its supervisory work.


Requesting a recommended decision

The Market Practice Board interprets and issues recommended decisions on the application of the Corporate Governance Code on its own initiative or upon request. Listed companies that have joined as Supporting Members and their representatives may request a recommended decision from the Market Practice Board free of charge. The request for a recommended decision must be made in writing. More information on how to request a recommended decision is provided by the Board’s secretaries.

Secretariat of the Market Practice Board

Ville Kajala

Ville Kajala

Senior Advisor, Finland Chamber of Commerce

+358 50 376 1460

Tapani Manninen

Tapani Manninen

Associate General Counsel, Nasdaq Helsinki Oy

+358 9 6166 7210


Application instructions

Application instructions and opinions

Extract of the Q&A on the application of the Corporate Governance Code 2020 (updated 16 November 2020)

pdf 211 KB

Statement supplementing the Corporate Governance Code on the election process of members of boards of directors (in Finnish)

pdf 96 KB

Recommended decisions

Recommended decisions issued by the Market Practice Board (in Finnish)

11 June 2019 – Opinion regarding the interpretation of recommendation 10 of the Corporate Governance Code (2015) – independence of directors (in Finnish)

pdf 80 KB

18 February 2015 – Opinion regarding the interpretation of recommendations 45, 46 and 47 of the Finnish Corporate Governance Code (2010) – remuneration of the CEO and information to be disclosed on remuneration (in Finnish)

pdf 65 KB

23 January 2015 – Opinion regarding the interpretation of recommendation 15 of the Corporate Governance Code (2010) – assessment of the independence of a director in a situation where a member of the board of directors has acted as interim CEO (in Finnish)

pdf 66 KB

12 November 2014 – Statement regarding the payment of transfer tax and good securities market practice in the distribution of share dividends (in Finnish)

pdf 119 KB

Previous versions of the Corporate Governance Code

Corporate Governance Code 2015

Corporate Governance Code 2015 in English

pdf 362 KB

Hallinnointikoodi 2015 suomeksi

pdf 398 KB

Finsk kod för bolagsstyrning 2015 på svenska

pdf 422 KB

Corporate Governance Codes 1997–2010 (in Finnish)

Corporate Governance Code 2010

pdf 1 MB

Corporate Governance Code 2008

pdf 604 KB

Corporate Governance Code 2003

pdf 271 KB

Corporate Governance Code 1997

pdf 2 MB

Printed copies of the code can be ordered here.