• He will coordinate and voice the opinions and positions of the independent directors. The lead director can also call meetings of the Board of Directors and include points on the agenda.
  • Bankia's board of directors has also appointed Fernando Fernández as a member of the Appointments and Remuneration Committees
  • Antonio Greño has been appointed as a member and chairman of the Audit and Compliance Committee

Bankia's board has decided to appoint Joaquín Ayuso as its new lead director, a role that strengthens the authority of the independent directors on the board of directors.

The lead director role is recommended as a best practice for good corporate governance in companies in which the chairman is also a company executive.

The purpose of the role is to coordinate and voice the opinions and positions of the independent directors, although it also has the power to call meetings of the board and include points on its agenda.

Lead directors are appointed for three years and may not be re-elected to this position.

Ayuso is taking over from Alfredo Lafita, who stepped down from the board at the bank's last general shareholders' meeting held in Valencia on 15 March.

Joaquín Ayuso is a qualified civil engineer from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. He is also vice chairman of Ferrovial, where he has spent his whole career, and is a member of its executive committee. He is also a member of the management board of the Círculo de Empresarios business association and of the advisory board of the Benjamin Franklin Institute of the University of Alcalá de Henares.

Bankia's board of directors has also appointed Fernando Fernández as a member of the Appointments and Remuneration Committees.

Fernando Fernández holds a doctorate in economics; he is a professor of economics at the IE Business School specialising in macroeconomics, international economics and financial stability; and he is a director of Red Eléctrica. He has been chief economist of the International Monetary Fund.

Antonio Greño, chairman of the Audit and Compliance Committee

Lastly, the board of directors has decided to appoint Antonio Greño as a member and chairman of the Audit and Compliance Committee. His appointment will be effective when the Bank of Spain confirms his registration in the Register of Senior Officers, which is still pending due to his recent appointment as a director of the bank at the last shareholders' meeting.

Greño holds a degree in business studies and is a qualified chartered accountant. He has spent a large part of his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) where he became an international partner responsible for the financial sector in Spain. He has been a director of CatalunyaCaixa and since October 2014 has been a director of BFA, the parent company of Bankia, a post that he is leaving to join the board of the listed company.

Following these appointments, the committees affected by these changes will comprise the following members:

Appointments Committee

  • Chairman: Joaquín Ayuso García.
  • Members: Francisco Javier Campo García, Fernando Fernández Méndez de Andés and Álvaro Rengifo Abbad.
  • Secretary: Miguel Crespo Rodríguez.

Remuneration Committee

  • Chairman: Eva Castillo Sanz.
  • Members: Joaquín Ayuso García, Jorge Cosmen Menéndez-Castañedo and Fernando Fernández Méndez de Andés.
  • Secretary: Miguel Crespo Rodríguez.

Audit and Compliance Committee*

  • Chairman: Antonio Greño Hidalgo.
  • Members: Joaquín Ayuso García, Jorge Cosmen Menéndez-Castañedo and José Luis Feito Higueruela.
  • Secretary: Miguel Crespo Rodríguez.

*Once the Bank of Spain confirms the appointment of Antonio Greño as a director of the bank.

Bankia SA issued this content on 01 April 2016 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 04 April 2016 11:10:45 UTC

Original Document: http://www.bankia.com/en/communication/in-the-news/press-releases/bankia-appoints-joaquin-ayuso-as-new-lead-director.html