Bankinter recommends shareholders vote via proxy or remotely in the Annual General Meeting due to coronavirus precautions

Bankinter has reported to the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (Spanish Securities Market Commission) on a number of items relating to its annual general meeting in light of the coronavirus epidemic.

First, Bankinter has today decided to maintain the general meeting scheduled for 19 March at 13 after analysing the pros and cons of delaying or cancelling it in depth.

However, with the new guidelines for events issued by health authorities, Bankinter has also decided to recommend that shareholders vote via proxy or remotely so as to not have to personally attend an event that generally brings together over 500 people. The bank aims to prevent a potential risk to the health of its shareholders as well as the employees who put on the general meeting, while guaranteeing that shareholders will be able to fully exercise their rights.

Therefore, the bank has alternative channels in place for proxy and remote voting. They are all described in the meeting announcement and on the corporate website (www.bankinter.com/webcorporativa). The Annual General Meeting will be broadcast live at the scheduled time and date.

Furthermore, to make sure the right to information can be exercised prior to the meeting, Bankinter has decided to extend the related time frame until the start time of the meeting (13.00 on 19 March). Information requests will be answered during the meeting or in the next seven days. Any shareholders who wish to have their remarks recorded in the meeting minutes should state this expressly in a letter to the bank.

Furthermore, this morning Bankinter’s management committee approved new measures for employees in light of new health instructions. Since the spread started, the bank has been working on special contingency plans, while monitoring the situation and remaining in contact with health officials.

These new measures also aim to prevent the spread of Covid-19 to work centres and branches in Spain as much as possible, and to mitigate potential risks to the health of Bankinter employees in line with the bank’s obligation to guarantee the continuity of its operations.

Though Bankinter has not detected any case of coronavirus amongst its staff, a significant measure the bank has adopted is telecommuting for all employees who might be considered at-risk, such as pregnant women and people with prior conditions. It also asks people with symptoms or who have been in contact with someone affected by coronavirus not to come to the bank.

In parallel, the bank will organise telework for employees, especially parents in the autonomous regions of Madrid and La Rioja, where the departments of health announced school closures.

During this epidemic, Bankinter wants to encourage everyone to be calm and careful. It will take any measures deemed necessary to prevent the virus from spreading.