Tomlinson: UK corporate governance is best in the world

Speaking during a debate on the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) Stewardship Code, Tomlinson, the NAPF’s chairman said pension funds should be proud of the work carried out so far.

“UK corporate governance is the best in the world, and we deserve credit for that. Companies are now radically different from where they were 20 years ago,” he said.

“Admittedly, when the banks blew up in 2008, it became difficult to defend that position when it failed so badly, even when no other corporate governance system fared any better.

“But corporate governance is only an element of a social and political system; and it was the entire system that failed.”

Baroness Sarah Hogg, chair of the FRC, also justified the FRC’s current ‘comply and explain’ method of operation, saying it was more important to get companies and fund managers through the door and engage with shareholders, than to try to force them to report through a more stringent process.

“Is it a case of Rudyard Kipling’s ‘softly, softly, catchy, monkey’? It is a risk, with the possibility of non performance or ignorance of the code, but I’m convinced getting them involved is the first step,” she said.