Nordea complies with applicable requirements regarding the independence of the Board according to applicable European regulatory requirements and Finnish laws and regulations as well as requirements according to the Code. Under the Code, the majority of the board members must be independent of the company, and at least two board members who are independent of the company must also be independent of the significant shareholders of the company. The Board meets this requirement.
The Board considers all its members to be independent of the Company’s significant shareholders and all the members elected by the shareholders at the 2023 AGM to be independent of the Company in accordance with the Code. No Board member elected by the shareholders at the 2023 AGM is employed by or works in an operative capacity at the Company. The ordinary Board members and the deputy Board member appointed by the employees are employed by the Nordea Group and are therefore not independent of the Company according to the Code.
The table shows the independence of the individual Board members in relation to Nordea Bank Abp as well as to the major shareholders.
Board members | Independent in | Independent in |
|---|---|---|
| Elected by shareholders | ||
| Stephen Hester, Chair | Yes | Yes |
| Lene Skole, Vice Chair | Yes | Yes |
| Arja Talma | Yes | Yes |
| Birger Steen | Yes | Yes |
| John Maltby | Yes | Yes |
| Jonas Synnergren | Yes | Yes |
| Kjersti Wiklund | Yes | Yes |
| Per Strömberg | Yes | Yes |
| Petra van Hoeken | Yes | Yes |
| Risto Murto | Yes | Yes |
| Appointed by employees* | ||
| Kasper Skovgaard Pedersen | No | Yes |
| Joanna Koskinen | No | Yes |
| Gerhard Olsson | No | Yes |
| Hans Christian Riise | No | Yes |
* One of the appointed members is a deputy member. Who this is changes every year according to a rotating schedule.