Chinabank gets top corporate governance plum

MANILA  -Sy-led China Banking Corp. bagged the top corporate governance prize for a second year in a row during the recent awards organized by the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD).

In a statement, Chinabank said it won ICD’s Five-Golden Arrow award, which is the highest recognition given by the governance-focused non-profit organization last Sept. 28.

“This recognition is a testament to Chinabank’s beyond compliance approach to corporate governance and our unwavering commitment to do what is right and to do right by our stakeholders,” Chinabank chief finance officer Patrick Cheng said in a statement.

The Golden Arrow awards are based on the 2022 Asean corporate governance scorecard and corporate governance scorecard.

These were designed to evaluate a listed company’s compliance to the following key corporate governance principles: rights and equitable treatment of shareholders, role of stakeholders, disclosure and transparency, and the responsibilities of the board.

A Golden Arrow is awarded to companies that achieved at least 80 points. Chinabank scored between 120 to 130 points, the only bank to do so, the statement showed.

“Our board of directors has been instrumental in setting the tone at the top and fostering our strong governance culture. This incredible honor inspires us to continue elevating our governance standards for our customers, employees, and all our stakeholders,” Cheng said.

Chinabank had received four Golden Arrow awards three times and received its first five-arrow recognition in 2022.
The bank was also cited in 2022 by the Asean Capital Markets Forum as among the top 20 in Asean and among the top three in the Philippines in corporate governance, and as an Asean asset class, the statement showed. INQ