Shareholders of Guaranty Trust Bank plc will attend the 2020 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the bank by proxy, the management has said.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on March 24, 2020 and addressed to shareholders, which is reproduced below.
Kindly be informed that Guaranty Trust Bank plc had published the Notice of its 30th Annual General Meeting (AGM) which is scheduled to hold on March 30, 2020.
Following the publication of the said Notice of the AGM, the Company is not unaware of the health hazards arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, which could be exacerbated by public gatherings. As a result of the said pandemic there have been global directives to adopt social distancing measures, leading to National and State Governments placing restrictions on public gatherings, meetings and movements. Lagos State, which is the venue of the Company’s AGM, has issued directives banning public gatherings of more than twenty-five (25) people.
In view of the legal framework and corporate actions predicated on the AGM, such as payment of dividend, election of Audit Committee members, the filing of Annual Returns and approval of the fees of external auditors, which actions will remain in abeyance if the AGM is postponed or cancelled, your Company engaged the Regulators with a view to finding a solution that would balance the compliance with regulatory framework and minimize health hazards that could be exacerbated by such large gatherings.
We are pleased to inform you that the Corporate Affairs Commission has graciously approved that the AGM should hold with ATTENDANCE BY PROXY to minimize social contact. To this end, Shareholders are encouraged to appoint proxies to represent them at the meeting, as the Company would abide by the Lagos State Government directive of not having more than twenty-five (25) people in a gathering (or any other number as may be permitted at the date of the meeting). Thus, as a law-abiding corporate citizen, the number of people that would be allowed into the venue of the AGM will be restricted to the number the Lagos State Government permits for social/public gatherings as at the date of the Meeting.
Kindly note that the measures above take into consideration the provisions on quorum for the meeting, as quorum can be achieved either by physical attendance or by proxy.
Shareholders are advised to appoint proxies and send the duly completed proxy form(s) to the Registrar, Datamax Registrars Limited, No. 2c, Gbagada Express Road, Gbagada Phase 1, Lagos State, or via email to datamax@datamaxregistrars.com, not less than 48 hours before March 30, 2020.
The Annual General Meeting would also be streamed live on the Bank’s website and Shareholders are encouraged to log in to observe proceedings.
The Shareholders who are able to attend the AGM would be properly screened at the security points and be required to undergo safety/health measures as directed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the Lagos State Ministry of Health.
It is important to note that these measures have been put in place to ensure the health and safety of our Staff and esteemed Shareholders and to further ensure that the operations of the Company are not disrupted as a result of the inability to carry out corporate actions.
