Voting Policy

The HFSF seeks to establish a supportive and constructive relationship with the boards of the banks in which we invest, and in general will only intervene where the Fund believes that a bank’s actions or practices might put at risk its ability to achieve the conditions necessary for divestment. 

Where the Fund has such concerns, it will raise them directly with the bank itself in the first instance, either through its board representative or one of the other mechanisms available to it under the Relationship Framework Agreement (RFA). The Fund will only consider voting against a management resolution or tabling or supporting a shareholder resolution if it is not possible to resolve its concerns through these means. 

The Fund aims to be predictable and consistent when engaging with investee banks and when voting at shareholder meetings. Consistency does not necessarily mean that the Fund will vote in the same way each year, or at all banks, but that its voting decisions can be explained on the basis of its corporate governance objectives. As well as the objectives and practices, the policy also indicates some of the specific circumstances in which the Fund might consider voting against the board.