Board of Directors Regulation
Telefonica SA
01 April 2004
ANTONIO J. ALONSO UREBA
Director, General Secretary
and Secretary to the Board of Directors
TELEFONICA, S.A.
Telefonica S.A. hereby reports that, in compliance with the provisions of
Spanish Act 26/2003 of July 17th, 2003 which amended the Stock Market Act (Ley
del Mercado de Valores) and the Consolidated Text of the Spanish Corporations
Act (Texto Refundido de la Ley de Sociedades Anonimas), the Board of Directors
of 'Telefonica, S.A.' at its meeting of March 31st , 2004 has unanimously
resolved to amend the Regulations of the Board of Directors of the Company
hitherto in force in order to adapt it to the aforesaid Act 26/2003, and
therefore approved a new Redrafted Text of those Regulations.
The Regulations will be reported to the Company's shareholders in the General
Meeting scheduled for April 29th and 30th of this year, at first and second
call, respectively, as will be announced in the official notice of Meeting. The
new Redrafted Text of the Regulations of the Board of Directors will be made
available to all of the shareholders, both in hard copy and soft copy through
the Company's web page.
Attached hereto is the new Redrafted Text of the Regulations of the Board of
Directors of 'Telefonica, S.A.' approved by the Board this past March 31st and
which will be reported to the shareholders in their General Meeting and
immediately filed for registration in the Madrid Mercantile Registry.
Madrid, April 1st , 2004
ANNEX
REDRAFTED TEXT OF THE REGULATIONS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF 'TELEFONICA,
S.A.', ADAPTED TO THE TRANSPARENCY ACT
Approved by the Board of Directors on March 31st, 2004
I N D E X
PRELIMINARY TITLE
• Article 1. Purpose
• Article 2. Interpretation
• Article 3. Amendment
• Article 4. Diffusion
TITLE I. GENERAL DUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF ACTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
• Article 5. General duties of the Board of Directors
• Article 6. Duties of the Board of Directors in relation to the
companies in the Group
• Article 7. Principles of action of the Board of Directors
TITLE II. COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD
• Article 8. Quantitative composition
• Article 9. Qualitative composition
TITLE III. APPOINTMENT AND SEVERANCE OF DIRECTORS
• Article 10. Appointment of Directors
• Article 11. Appointment of External Directors
• Article 12. Term of office
• Article 13. Re-election of Directors
• Article 14. Severance of Directors
• Article 15. Voting criteria
TITLE IV. OPERATION OF THE BOARD
• Chapter I. DISTRIBUTION OF OFFICES
• Article 16. The Chairman of the Board
• Article 17. The Vice-Chairman of the Board
• Article 18. The Secretary to the Board
• Article 19. The Vice-Secretary to the Board
• Chapter II. RULES OF OPERATION
• Article 20. Meetings of the Board of Directors
• Article 21. Course of the sessions
• Chapter III. BOARD SUB-COMMITTEES
• Article 22. General provisions
• Article 23. The Executive Committee
• Article 24. The Audit and Control Committee
• Article 25. The Nominating, Compensation and Corporate Governance
Committee
• Article 26. The Regulation Committee
• Article 27. The Human Resources and Corporate Reputation Committee
• Article 28. The Service Quality and Customer Service Committee
• Article 29. The International Affairs Committee
TITLE V. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE DIRECTORS
• Chapter I. RIGHT AND DUTY OF INFORMATION
• Article 30. Right and duty of information
• Article 31. Expert assistance
• Chapter II. OBLIGATIONS OF THE DIRECTORS
• Article 32. Duty of diligence
• Article 33. Duty of fidelity
• Article 34. Duty of secrecy
• Article 35. Duty of loyalty
• Article 36. Specific duties arising from the listed company status of
Telefonica, S.A.
• Article 37. Liability of the Directors
• Chapter III. REMUNERATION OF THE BOARD
• Article 38. Remuneration of the Directors
TITLE VI. RELATIONS OF THE BOARD
• Article 39. Relations with the shareholders
• Article 40. Relations with the institutional shareholders
• Article 41.Transactions with significant shareholders
• Article 42. Relations with the markets
• Article 43. Relations with the Accounts Auditor
* * *
PRELIMINARY TITLE
Article 1. Object.
1. The object of these Regulations is to determine the principles of action of
the Board of Directors of Telefonica, S.A. and its sub-committees, to regulate
its organisation and operation and to establish the rules of conduct of its
members, in order to achieve the greatest possible degree of efficiency and
optimise its management.
2. The rules of conduct established in these Regulations for the Directors will
be applicable, to the extent that they are compatible with their specific
nature, to the executive officers of the Company.
Article 2. Interpretation.
These Regulations will be interpreted according to the applicable legal and
statutory rules and will fundamentally serve its spirit and purpose. The power
to resolve interpretative questions that may arise in its application falls to
the Board of Directors.
Article 3. Amendment.
1. These Regulations may only be amended by the Board of Directors at the
proposal of the Chairman, five Directors or the Nominating, Compensation and
Corporate Governance Committee.
2. The proposals of Amendment must be accompanied by a justifying report and be
notified by the Nominating, Compensation Committee and Corporate Governance
Committee. That report will not be necessary when the proposed amendment is made
by the Nominating, Compensation and Corporate Governance Committee.
3. The text of the proposal, the justifying report by its authors and, when
appropriate, the Nominating, Compensation and Corporate Governance Committee
report must be attached to the calling of the meeting of the Board that must
discuss it, and it must be specifically included on its Agenda.
Article 4. Diffusion.
1. The Directors and executive officers have the obligation to know, comply and
ensure compliance with these Regulations. To that end, the Secretary to the
Board shall provide all of them a copy.
2. These Regulations, as well as their possible amendments, shall be reported to
the General Meeting of Shareholders, shall be notified to the National Stock
Exchange Commission, shall be registered at the Mercantile Registry according to
the regulations in force, and will be available on the Company's web page and at
its registered office, thus guaranteeing wide diffusion among the shareholders
and investors.
TITLE I.
GENERAL DUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF ACTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Article 5. General duties of the Board of Directors.
1. The Board of Directors is, as set forth in the Act and the Articles of
Association, the highest Body of administration and representation of the
Company, it thus being empowered to perform, within the scope covered by the
corporate object defined in the Articles of Association, any acts or legal
transactions of administration and disposal, by any juridical title, except for
this reserved by the Act or the Articles of Association to the exclusive
competence of the General Meeting of Shareholders.
2. Notwithstanding the aforementioned, the Board of Directors is basically
configured as a supervisory and controlling body, and the ordinary management of
the Company business is entrusted to the executive bodies and management team.
3. The powers that, by law or statute, are reserved for exclusive hearing by the
Board, or others required for responsible exercise of its basic duties of
supervision and control, may not be delegated.
4. Within the scope of duties of supervision and control, the Board of Directors
shall set the Company's management strategies and guidelines, shall establish
the basis of the corporate organisation in order to guarantee the greatest
efficiency of same, shall implement and safeguard establishment of adequate
information procedures of the Company for the shareholders and markets in
general, shall adopt the relevant decisions on corporate and financial
operations of special transcendence to the company, and shall approve the basis
of its own organisation and operation for the best fulfilment of these duties.
Article 6. Duties of the Board of Directors in relation to the companies in
the Group.
In relation to the Telefonica, S.A Group companies, its Board of Directors,
within the legal limits, shall set the basis for adequate, efficient
co-ordination between the Company and the companies forming that Group,
respecting in all cases the autonomy of decision of its governing and management
bodies, according to the inherent corporate interest of the Company and of each
of those companies.
To the ends mentioned and within the limits stated, the Board of Directors of
Telefonica, S.A. shall implement the necessary instruments to establish adequate
co-ordination relations based on mutual interest and, thus, in keeping with by
their respective corporate interests.
Article 7. Principles of action of the Board of Directors.
1. The Board of Directors shall perform its duties according to the
corporate interest, understood as the interest of the Company; and, in that
sense, shall act to guarantee the long term feasibility of the Company and
maximise its value, also pondering the plural legitimate, public or private,
interests that arise in performance of all corporate activity.
2. The Board of Directors will approve a policy of full market disclosure
and transparency, ensuring the correct setting of the Company share price.
TITLE II. COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD
Article 8. Quantitative composition.
1. The Board of Directors shall be formed by the number of Directors determined
by the General Meeting of Shareholders, within the limits set in the Articles of
Association of the Company.
2. The Board shall make a proposal to the General Meeting of Shareholders of the
number of Directors that, according to the prevailing circumstances at the
Company at each moment, are most adequate to ensure due representation and
effective operation of the body, without the number proposed exceeding twenty in
any case.
Article 9. Qualitative composition.
1. The Board of Directors, exercising the rights of co-option and proposal of
appointments to the General Meeting of Shareholders, shall ensure in the
composition of the Body that external and non executive Directors form an ample
majority over the executive Directors.
To these ends, the executive Directors shall be understood to be those who have
executive or management duties in the Company, or in any of the companies in its
Group and, in all cases, those who have a labour, mercantile or other kind of
relation with the Company, other than their status as Director. Those who have
any capacity to decide in relation to any part of the Company business, or that
of any of the companies in the Group, by stable delegation or empowerment
granted by the Board of Directors, shall also be considered executive Directors.
2. The Board shall also ensure that the majority group of the external Directors
is formed, on one hand, by those proposed by the holders of significant stakes
in the stock capital (proprietary Directors); and on the other hand, by
professionals of recognised prestige who are not related to the management team
or the significant shareholders (independent Directors).
3. In order to establish a reasonable balance between both types of external
Directors and considering the present shareholding structure of the Company, the
Board shall ensure that the independent Directors are in majority in relation to
the proprietary ones, the present estimate of the ideal number of proprietary
Directors being six, due to the quantitative composition of the Board and the
present shareholding structure of the Company, in which the portion of floating
capital is slightly greater than the sum of stable significant stakes
represented by proprietary Directors.
4. What is set forth in this Article is understood to be notwithstanding the
right to proportional representation shareholders, legally recognised, and that
of the competences of the General Meeting of Shareholders.
TITLE III. APPOINTMENT AND REMOVALOF DIRECTORS
Article 10. Appointment of Directors.
1. The Directors shall be appointed by the General Shareholders' Meeting , or,
provisionally, by the Board of Directors, according to the provisions set forth
in the Spanish Companies Act and in the Articles of Association.
2. The proposals for appointment of Directors submitted by the Board of
Directors for consideration to the General Shareholders' Meeting , and the
resolutions on appointment passed by that body by virtue of the powers of
co-option it is legally attributed, must abide by the terms of these Regulations
and be preceded by the relevant report of the Nominating, Compensation and
Corporate Governance Committee, which shall not be binding.
3. In relation to the proprietary Directors, their appointment must be assigned
to the persons proposed by the respective holders of stable significant
shareholdings, and the other Directors must ensure with their vote that such
appointments or proposed appointments are subject to approval by the Board of
Directors with the reinforced voting quorum required under Article 25 of the
Articles of Association and waiving the requisites of a personal nature
established in the said article of the Articles of Association.
Article 11. Appointment of External Directors.
1. The Board of Directors and the Nominating, Compensation and Corporate
Governance Committee shall ensure, within the scope of their respective
competences, that the choice of candidates falls upon persons of recognised
solvency, competency and experience, who are willing to dedicate a sufficient
part of their time to the Company, and extreme care must be taken as to the
choice of the persons called to cover posts as independent Directors.
2. The Board of Directors shall propose or assign those who fulfil conditions
that ensure impartiality and objective criteria to cover independent Director
posts. Among these, for the purposes of illustration, there are the following:
a. Not to have, or to have recently had, any direct or indirect labour,
commercial, contractual, relation, of a significant nature, with the
Company, its management, the proprietary Directors or companies in the Group
whose shareholding interests they represent, banking institutions with an
outstanding position in the financing of the Company, or organisations that
receive significant subventions from it;
b. Not to be a Director of another listed company that has proprietary Directors
in the Company;
c. Not to be relative of the executive or proprietary Directors or of the
Company's executive officers.
If any of the above relations were to exist, it must be known to and evaluated
by the Board of Directors, following a report of the Nominating, Compensation
and Corporate Governance Committee, and recorded in the Company's annual report.
Article 12. Term of office.
1. Directors shall hold office for a maximum term of five years, and may be
re-elected one or more times for periods of the same duration.
2. Directors appointed by co-option shall hold office until the date
of the first General Shareholders' Meeting.
3. For the term of two years, Directors who have ended their office or who,
for any other reason, cease to hold office, may not provide services to another
firm that has a similar or analogous corporate object as that of the Company, or
to any of the Companies forming its Group.
If it sees fit, the Board of Directors, may waive that obligation upon the
outgoing Director, or shorten its term.
Article 13. Re-election of Directors.
1. The proposals for re-election of Directors that the Board of Directors
decides to submit to the General Shareholders' Meeting must comply with the
terms of these Regulations and be preceded by the relevant report issued by the
Nominating, Compensation and Corporate Governance Committee, which shall not be
binding.
2. The Board of Directors shall ensure that the external Directors who are
re-elected do not remain assigned to the same Committee of the Board.
Article 14. Removal of Directors.
1. Directors shall cease to hold office when the term for which they were
appointed elapses, or when this is resolved by the General Shareholders' Meeting
making use of the powers it is legally granted.
2. The Directors must place their position to the disposal of the Board of
Directors and formalise the relevant resignation in the following cases:
a. When they reach the age of 70. Directors with executive duties shall cease to
serving in such capacity when they reach the age of 65, although they may
continue as Directors if the Board so decides.
In such cases, the removal from office shall take place at the first Board
meeting held after the General Shareholders' Meeting approves the accounts
of the financial year in which the Director reached the age limit.
b. When they cease to hold the executive positions to which their appointment as
Directors is linked, or when the reasons for which they were appointed
disappear. Such circumstance is understood to occur in the case of a
proprietary Director when the Company or corporate Group he represents
ceases to hold a significant stake in the Company share capital or when, in
the case of an independent Director, he takes an executive in the Company or
at any of its subsidiaries.
c. When they incur in any of the cases of incompatibility or barring legally
foreseen.
d. When severely admonished by the Nominating, Compensation and Corporate
Governance Committee for having failed to fulfil any of their obligations as
Directors.
e. When their remaining on the Board may affect the credit or reputation the
Company enjoys in the market or places its interests at risk in any other
way.
Article 15. Voting criteria.
1. According to what is set forth in Article 35 of these Regulations, Directors
affected by proposals for appointment, re-election or removal shall abstain from
intervening in deliberations and voting concerning them.
2. All voting by the Board of Directors concerning appointment, re-election or
removal of Directors shall be secret if this is requested by any of its members,
notwithstanding the right of all Directors to have the sense of their vote
recorded in the minutes.
TITLE IV. OPERATION OF THE BOARD
CHAPTER I. DISTRIBUTION OF OFFICES
Article 16. The Chairman of the Board.
1. The Chairman of the Board of Directors shall be considered First Executive of
the Company and, thus, his appointment or renewal shall be linked to delegation,
when so resolved, of all the powers and competences of the Board that may
legally be delegated, he being assigned effective management of the Company
business, always according to the decisions and criteria established by the
General Shareholders' Meeting and the Board of Directors.
2. The Chairman of the Board will chair all the bodies of governance and
administration of the Company, and is to execute the resolutions of the Board
and the Executive Committee, bodies he represents permanently with the most
ample powers, and may adopt, in cases of urgency, the measures he may deem
convenient to the interests of the Company.
3. Notwithstanding what is stated above, whenever the Board of Directors
resolves to appoint a new person to hold office as Chairman, it must determine
the powers to delegate upon it according to the characteristics of the person
and the circumstances arising in that appointment.
4. At any time, the Board of Directors may resolve the removal of the Chairman
by a resolution passed by the majority of the members present.
Article 17. The Vice-Chairman of the Board.
1. The Boards shall elect one or more Vice-Chairmen - executive or not - to
stand in for the Chairman by delegation, due to his absence or illness and, in
general, in all cases, functions or attributes that are considered appropriate
by the Board, or by the Chairman himself.
2. The Chairman shall be stood in for by one of the Vice-Chairmen who is
entrusted executive duties in the Company and, failing that, by the eldest
Vice-Chairman.
Article 18. The Secretary to the Board.
1. The Secretary to the Board of Directors need not be a Director.
2. The Secretary shall assist the Chairman in performing his duties and must
ensure proper operation of the Board, taking most especial care that the
Directors are provided the necessary advice and information, keep the corporate
documentation, duly record the proceedings of the meetings of the Board in the
minute books and certify its resolutions.
3. The Secretary shall take care in all cases as to the formal and material
legality of actions by the Board and shall guarantee that its procedures and
rules of governance are respected.
4. The Secretary of the Board shall also be General Secretary of the Company
with the competences attributed thereto under Article 33.1 of the Articles of
Association.
Article 19. The Vice-Secretary to the Board.
1. The Board of Directors may appoint a Vice-Secretary, who need not be a
Director, to assist the Secretary to the Board of Directors or replace him in
performance of his duties in the event of absence or incapacity.
2. Except when the contrary is decided by the Board of Directors, the
Vice-Secretary may attend its meetings to aid the Secretary in drafting the
minutes of the meeting.
CHAPTER II. RULES OF OPERATION
Article 20. Meetings of the Board of Directors.
1. The power to call the Board of Directors and draft the Agenda of its
meetings, as appropriate, shall be the remit of the Chairman who must, however,
call it when requested by three Directors stating the matters to be discussed.
The Board of Directors shall hold its ordinary meeting once a month and, at the
Chairman's initiative, as often as he may deem convenient for proper running of
the Company.
The Board shall set the calendar of ordinary meetings before the beginning of
each financial year. The calendar may be amended by resolution by the Board
itself, or when decided by the Chairman, in which case the Directors must be
informed of the amendment as soon as possible.
2. The formal calling of the ordinary meetings will be made by letter, fax,
telegram or electronic mail, and will be authorised by the Chairman's signature,
or that of the Secretary or Vice-Secretary on the Chairman's orders. The calling
shall be issued at least three days before the date on which it is to be held.
The calling will include a preview of the foreseeable Agenda of the meeting, and
will be accompanied by the relevant written information that is available. In
any case, the Chairman shall always have the power to submit those matters he
considers appropriate to the Board of Directors, regardless of whether they are
on the Agenda of the meeting or not.
3. When the circumstances so require, the Chairman may call the Board of
Directors meeting by telephone, by fax or electronic mail to an ordinary
meeting, without fulfilling the term of notice or other requisites set forth in
the preceding section.
4. The Board shall perform an annual evaluation of its operation and the quality
of its work on approval of the Annual Report on Corporate Governance.
Article 21. Course of the sessions.
1. The Board shall be validly constituted when the meeting is attended, present
or represented, by half plus one of its members.
The Directors must attend the meetings of the Board personally and when,
exceptionally, they are not able to do so, they shall ensure that their
representation granted to another member of the Board includes, to the extent
possible, the appropriate instructions.
Those delegations may be granted by letter or by any other means that, in the
Chairman's opinion, ensure the certainty and validity of representation..
2. The Chairman shall organise the debates, ensuring and encouraging
participation in the discussions by all the Directors.
3. At the proposal of the Chairman, the executive officers of the Company shall
attend the meetings of the Board when their intervention is required or
convenient, in order to inform it of matters within their remit.
4. Except in cases in which another voting quorum is specifically applicable,
the resolutions shall be passed by majority of the Directors attending the
meeting (present or represented).
5. Exceptionally, when urgently required, the Chairman may propose that
resolutions be passed without a meeting and in writing (fax, mail, electronic
mail, etc.), as long as that procedure is not opposed by any Director.
CHAPTER III. BOARD SUB-COMMITTEES
Article 22. General provisions.
a) Executive Committee.
Notwithstanding delegation of powers in favour of the Chairman and, when
appropriate, the Managing Director or Vice-Chairman, the Board of Directors
shall appoint an Executive Committee, with general decision-making capacity and,
thus, with express delegation of all the powers assigned to the Board of
Directors except those that under law or statute may not be delegated.
b) Other sub-committees.
1. The Board of Directors may also constitute one or several sub-committees that
are entrusted the examination and permanent monitoring of some area of specific
relevance to good Corporate Governance, or for monographic analysis of an aspect
or question whose significance or degree of importance makes this advisable.
These sub-committees shall not have the status of Corporate Bodies, being
configured as instruments at the service of the Board of Directors, to which
they shall report the conclusions reached in the subjects or matters whose
monographic treatment has been entrusted to them.
2. The Board of Directors shall determine the number of members of each
sub-committee and shall appoint the Directors who are to form it, at the
proposal of the Chairman.
In order to facilitate adequate, fluent relations with the Company, each
sub-committee may have an executive officer assigned, who shall attend the
different meetings held by the sub-committee, with the right to speak but not
vote, and who may be assigned the secretariat of same.
In all cases, the executive officer must leave the meeting when, due to the
nature of the matters to be dealt with, the sub-committee considers it
appropriate.
3. The sub-committees shall regulate their own operation, shall appoint a
Chairman and a Secretary from among its members - who may not be a member of it
- and shall meet when called by their respective Chairman, and must annually
prepare a plan of actions who shall report to the Board.
The sub-committees shall be validly constituted with direct attendance, or by
means of representation, of at least half of its members; and it shall pass its
resolutions by the majority of those attending. In the event of a draw, the
relevant Chairman shall pass the deciding vote.
The Secretary shall take the minutes of each sub-committee meeting, sending
these to the Secretary of the Board of Directors for filing and custody. The
minutes of the Board sub-committees shall be available in all cases to the
members of the Board of Directors for possible consultation.
In matters not specifically regulated, the Rules of Operation established in
these Regulations in relation to the Board of Directors shall be applicable to
the Board sub-committees.
4. The Company's executive officers shall attend the sessions of the Committees
when, in the opinion of their respective Chairman, their intervention is
necessary or convenient, in order to report on matters of their remit.
5. Notwithstanding the power of the Board to appoint other Committees, with the
attributes it may see fit to grant them, those constituted in all cases shall be
the Audit and Control Committee, the Nominating, Compensation and Corporate
Governance Committee, the Regulation Committee, the Human Resources and
Corporate Reputation Committee, the Service Quality and Customer Service
Committee, and the International Affairs Committee.
Article 23. The Executive Committee.
a) Composition.
The Executive Committee shall be comprised of the Chairman of the Board and by a
number of spokesmen not numbering less than three, or exceeding ten Directors
appointed by the Board of Directors.
In the qualitative composition of the Executive Committee, the Board shall
ensure that the external or non executive Directors form a majority in relation
to the executive Directors.
While there is no relevant alteration of the stable significant stakes in the
stock capital, appointment of the spokesmen of the Executive Committee shall be
performed as follows: two spokesmen from the executive Directors, three
spokesmen from the proprietary Directors and the two remaining spokesmen from
the independent Directors.
In all cases, for the appointment or renewal of the members of the Executive
Committee to be valid, it will require the favourable vote of at least two
thirds of the members of the Board of Directors.
b) Operation.
The Executive Committee shall meet as often as called by the Chairman, usually
holding its meetings every fifteen days.
The acting Chairman and Secretary to the Executive Committee shall be those
who hold the same offices on the Board of Directors, and one or several
Vice-Chairmen and a Vice-Secretary may also be appointed.
The Executive Committee shall be validly constituted when the meeting is
attended, by half plus one of its members, present or represented.
The resolutions shall be passed by majority of the Directors attending the
meeting (present or represented), and the Chairman shall cast the deciding vote
in the event of a draw.
c) Relations with the Board of Directors.
The Executive Committee shall report punctually to the Board on all the matters
dealt with and the decisions passed by its meetings.
Article 24. The Audit and Control Committee.
a) Composition.
The Audit and Control Committee shall be formed by a minimum of three and a
maximum of five Directors appointed by the Board of Directors. All the members
of that Committee must be non executive Directors.
The Chairman of the Audit and Control Committees shall be appointed from among
its members, and must be replaced every four years, and may be re-elected when
the term of one year has elapsed from ceasing to hold office.
b) Competences
Notwithstanding any other committee the Board of Directors may entrust to
the Audit and Control Committee, it will have the main duty of supporting the
Board of Directors in its supervisory duties and, specifically, will have at
least the following competences:
1. To report, through its Chairman, to the General Meeting of Shareholders on
matters raised at it by the shareholders in matters of competence of the
Committee;
2. To propose to the Board of Directors, to submit to the General Meeting of
Shareholders, appointment of the Accounts Auditor referred to in Article 204
of the Stock Company Act, as well as, when appropriate, its terms of hiring,
scope of professional mandate and revocation or renewal of its appointment;
3. To supervise the internal audit services;
4. To examine the financial information process and the internal control
systems; and
5. To maintain the necessary relations with the Accounts Auditor to receive
information on all matters that may put its independence at risk, and any
others related to the process of performing the accounts audit, as well as
to receive information and maintain the communications with the Accounts
Auditor that are foreseen in the law on accounts auditing and in the
technical regulations on auditing.
c) Operation.
The Audit and Control Committees shall meet at least once a quarter and as
often as appropriate, when called by its Chairman, at his own instance or on
application by two of its members or by the Executive Committee.
The Audit and Control Committee may require the Accounts Auditor to the Company
and internal auditing officer to attend its meetings.
Article 25. The Nominating, Compensation and Corporate Governance Committee.
a. Composition.
The Nominating, Compensation and Corporate Governance Committee shall
be formed by a minimum of three and a maximum of five Directors. All the
members of that Committee must be non executive Directors.
The Chairman of the Nominating, Compensation and Corporate Governance
Committee shall be appointed from among its members.
b. Competences.
Notwithstanding any other committee it may be entrusted by the Board of
Directors, the Nominating, Compensation and Corporate Governance Committee shall
have the following competences:
1. To report on the proposals to appoint Directors and top executives of the
Company and its subsidiaries.
2. To approve the scales of remuneration of top executives of the Company
3. To approve the standard contracts for top executives.
4. To determine the regime of remuneration of the Chairman.
5. To report and propose the regime of remuneration of the Directors to the
Board of Directors and to review them periodically to ensure it suits the
duties carried out by these, pursuant to Article 38 of these Regulations.
6. To report on the incentive plans.
7. To perform annual examination of the remuneration policy of the Directors and
top management.
8. To report on the proposals for appointment of the members of the Executive
Committee and the other Committees of the Board of Directors.
9. To prepare and keep a record of the statuses of the Directors and top
executives of the Company.
10. To prepare the Annual Report on Corporate Governance.
11. To exercise other competences assigned to that Committee in these
Regulations.
All the activities by the Nominating, Compensation and Corporate Governance
Committee will be reported to the Board of Directors, at the first meeting it
holds, and in all cases the relevant documentation shall be made available, in
order for it to be informed of those activities to exercise its competences.
c) Operation.
The Nominating, Compensation and Corporate Governance Committee shall meet
whenever the Board of Directors of the Company or its Chairman requests issue of
a report or approval of proposals within the scope of its competences and
whenever, in the opinion of the Chairman of the Committee, it is convenient for
proper performance of its duties.
Article 26. The Regulation Committee.
a) Composition.
The Regulation Committee shall be formed by a minimum of three and a
maximum of five Directors, and the majority must be non executive Directors.
The Chairman of the Regulation Committee shall be appointed from among its
members.
b) Duties.
Notwithstanding other duties it may be assigned by the Board of Directors,
the Regulation Committee shall have at least the following functions:
1. To carry out, through study, analysis and discussion, permanent monitoring of
the main matters and themes of the regulatory order that affect the
Telefonica Group at all times.
2. To provide a channel for communication and information between the Management
Team and the Board of Directors in statutory matters and, when appropriate,
to bring to the knowledge of the latter matters that are considered
important or relevant to the Company, or to any of the companies in the
Group and on which it may be necessary or convenient to adopt a decision or
to establish a specific strategy.
Article 27. The Human Resources and Corporate Reputation Committee.
a. Composition.
The Human Resources and Corporate Reputation Committee shall be formed
by a minimum of three and maximum of five Directors, and the majority must
be non executive Directors.
The Chairman of the Human Resources and Corporate Reputation Committee
shall be appointed from among its members.
b. Duties.
Notwithstanding other duties it may be assigned by the Board of Directors,
the Human Resources and Corporate Reputation Committee shall have at least the
following duties:
1. To analyse, inform and propose to the Board of Directors adoption of the
appropriate resolutions in matters of personnel policy.
2. To encourage development of the Corporate Reputation project of the
Telefonica Group and implementation of the central values of that Group.
Article 28. The Service Quality and Customer Service Committee.
a) Composition.
The Service Quality and Customer Service Committee shall be formed by a
minimum of three and a maximum of five Directors, the majority of which must be
non executive Directors.
The Chairman of the Service Quality and Customer Service Committee shall be
appointed from among its members.
b) Duties.
Notwithstanding other duties it may be assigned by the Board of Directors,
the Service Quality and Customer Service Committee shall have at least the
following duties:
1. To perform the examination, analysis and periodic monitoring of the quality
index of the main services the companies in the Telefonica Group provide.
2. To evaluate the levels of customer service to its customers by those
companies.
Article 29. The International Affairs Committee.
a) Composition.
The International Affairs Committee shall be formed by a minimum of three
and maximum of five Directors, the majority of which must be non executive
Directors.
The Chairman of International Affairs Committee shall be appointed from
among his members.
b) Duties.
Notwithstanding other duties it may be assigned by the Board of Directors,
the International Affairs Committee shall have the fundamental mission of
reinforcing and bringing international matters that are relevant to proper
development of the Telefonica to the attention of the Board of Directors. In
that sense, it shall perform, among others, the following duties:
1. To pay special attention to institutional relations in the countries in which
the companies of the Telefonica Group operate.
2. To analyse those matters of importance that affect it in international bodies
and forums, or those of economic integration.
3. To review the regulatory matters, of competence and alliances.
4. To evaluate the programmes and activities of the different Foundations of the
Company and the resources that are used to benefit their image and
international social presence.
TITLE V. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE DIRECTORS
CHAPTER I. RIGHT AND DUTY OF INFORMATION
Article 30. Right andduty of information.
1. The Directors must diligently seek information on the running of the
Company, gathering to that end as much information as is necessary or convenient
at each moment for proper, diligent performance of their duties.
To that end, the Directors are invested with the most ample powers to obtain
information on any aspect of the Company, to examine its books, records,
documents and other records of the corporate operations.
That right to information is also extended to the different companies in the
Telefonica Group to the extent required to enable fulfilment of the duties to
which Article 6 of these Regulations refers.
2. In order not to disturb ordinary management of the Company, the right to
information will be channelled through the Chairman or the Secretary to the
Board of Directors, who shall attend to the requests by the Directors, directly
providing them the information or offering them the appropriate contacts at the
appropriate level of the organisation.
Article 31. Expert assistance.
1. In order to be aided in performance of their duties, the external Directors
in majority, or any of the Committees of the Board by majority resolution of its
members, may request that legal, accounting, financial or other experts be hired
at the expense of the Company.
The engagement must necessarily be related to specific problems of certain
importance and complexity that arise in performance of office.
2. The Chairman of the Company must be informed of the decision to
committee such services and they will be instrumentalised through the Secretary
to the Board, except if the Board of Directors does not consider such a
committee necessary or convenient.
CHAPTER II. OBLIGATIONS OF THE DIRECTORS
Article 32. Duty of diligence.
The Directors must act with the diligence of an orderly company owner and loyal
representative, being obliged by virtue thereof to:
a. Inform themselves and adequately prepare the meetings of the Board and the
Committees they are on.
b. Attend the meetings of the bodies that they form part of and actively
participate in the deliberations, in order that their criteria may
effectively contribute to the decision making, and to take responsibility
for them.
c. To perform any specific duty they are entrusted by the Board of Directors
that reasonably falls within their commitments of dedication.
d. To bring about investigation of any irregularity in management of the Company
which may have come to their knowledge and to ensure adequate measures are
adopted for control over any situation of risk.
e. To call the Board of Directors when they consider it necessary, or to include
the particulars they deem appropriate on the Agenda.
f. To oppose resolutions that are contrary to the Act, the Articles of
Association or the corporate interest, and to request record of their
opposition in the Minutes.
Article 33. Duty of fidelity.
When performing their duty, the Directors must fulfil the duties imposed by
the laws and Articles of Association in fidelity to the corporate interest, that
being understood as the interest of the Company.
Article 34. Duty of secrecy.
1. Even after ceasing to hold office, the Directors must keep the secret of the
confidential information, and reserved information, data, reports or records
that they had knowledge of due to performing their duty, without these being
disclosed to third parties or being subject to diffusion when this may have
damaging consequences to the corporate interest.
The duty the preceding paragraph refers to does not include cases in which
the law allows disclosure or diffusion to a third party or which, when
appropriate, are required and must be submitted to the respective
supervision authorities, in which case cession of the information must be
pursuant to the provisions of the laws.
2. All documentation and information that the Directors have made
available to them due to their office are confidential, and may not be
revealed in any way whatsoever, except if a resolution by the Board of
Directors expressly waives that status.
3. When the Director is a corporation, the duty of secrecy shall lie with
its representative, notwithstanding fulfilment of the obligation he has to
report it.
Article 35. Duty of loyalty.
1. The Directors shall act in performance of their duties with absolute
loyalty to the corporate interest of the Company.
To that end, the Directors must fulfil the following obligations and
prohibitions:
a) The Directors may not use the name of the Company, nor invoke their
status as Administrators to perform operations on their own account, or for
persons related to them.
b) The Directors may not perform, for their own benefit or that of
related persons, investments or operations linked to the assets of the
Company of which they have had knowledge when exercising their duties of
office, when those operations have been offered to the Company, or it has an
interest in them, as long as the Company has not rejected them due to the
influence of the Directors.
c) The Directors may not make use of the Company assets, or make use of
their position at it to obtain an property advantage, unless they have paid
an adequate consideration.
If the advantage is received as a partner, it shall only be
appropriate if it respects the principle of parity in treatment of
shareholders.
d) The Directors must inform the Board of Directors of any situation of
direct or indirect conflict with the interests of the company. In the event
of conflict, the Director affected shall abstain from intervening in the
operation to which the conflict refers.
e) The Directors must abstain from intervening in voting that
affects matters in which they or persons related to them have a direct or
indirect interest.
f) No Director may directly or indirectly perform professional or
commercial operations with the Company or with any of the companies in its
Group, when those operations are unrelated to the ordinary business of the
Company or not performed on market conditions, unless the Board of Directors
is informed of these in advance and it approves the transaction with the
favourable vote of at least 80% of the Directors attending the meeting,
present or represented, following a report by the Nominating, Compensation
and Corporate Governance Committee.
g) The Directors must report the stake held by them or persons
related to them in the capital of a company with the same, similar or
complementary kind of activity to that constituting the corporate object,
offices or duties they perform in it, as well as performance on their own
account or that of others of the same, similar or complementary activity to
that constituting the corporate object.
The Board of Directors, at the proposal of the Nominating, Compensation and
Corporate Governance Committee, may forbid the Directors from holding
relevant offices in firms that compete with the Company or any of the
companies in its Group.
2. To the ends established in the preceding paragraph, related persons shall be
understood to be those to which article 127 ter. 5 of the Stock Company Act
refers.
Article 36. Specific duties arising from the listed company status of
Telefonica, S.A.
1. The Directors must inform the Company of the securities in it which
they hold directly or indirectly, on the terms established in the Stock
Market laws and the Internal Rules of Conduct of Telefonica, Moviles S.A. on
Matters Related to the Stock Markets.
2. The Directors may not perform or suggest that any person perform,
operations with securities of the Company, or the companies in its Group,
over which they have, due to their office, privileged or reserved
information that has not been released to the public at large.
3. The Directors may not use non public information of the Company to private
ends, except when the following conditions are fulfilled:
a. That the use of that information does not breach the by-laws regulating the
stock market;
b. That their use does not cause any damage whatsoever to the Company; and
c. That the Company does not hold exclusive rights or legal position of a
similar status over the information they wish to use, except if express
authorisation is obtained from the Board.
4. Notwithstanding what is set forth in the preceding sections, the
Directors must abide at all times by the rules of conduct established in the
Stock Market laws and, especially, those set forth in the Internal Rules of
Conduct of Telefonica Moviles, S.A. on Matters Related to the Stock Market.
Article 37. Liability of the Directors.
The Directors shall be liable to Company, to the shareholders and corporate
creditors, for the damage caused by acts or omissions in breach of the Act or
Articles of Association, or those caused while failing to fulfil the duties
inherent to the duties of office, on the terms and conditions legally
established.
CHAPTER III. REMUNERATION OF THE BOARD
Article 38. Remuneration of the Directors.
1. The Board shall be entitled to obtain the remuneration set by the Board of
Directors according to the statutory provisions and following a report by the
Nominating, Compensation and Corporate Governance Committee.
2. The Board shall ensure that the remuneration of the Board is in keeping with
that paid on the market at companies of a similar size and activity.
3. Remuneration of the Directors will be fully transparent. To that end, the
Nominating, Compensation and Corporate Governance Committee shall annually
examine the policy of remuneration of the Directors.
4. The remuneration obtained from belonging to the Board of Directors shall be
compatible with other professional or labour dues the Directors may be entitled
to for any other executive duties or consultancy that, if appropriate, they may
perform for the Company.
TITLE VI. RELATIONS OF THE BOARD
Article 39. Relations with the shareholders.
1. The Board of Directors, acting as a liaison between the owners and
management, shall arbitrate the adequate channels to hear the proposals that
may be formulated by the shareholders in relation to management of the
Company.
In particular, the Board shall facilitate regular exchange of
information with committees or groups of shareholders, without that leading,
under any circumstances, to any privilege for the shareholders gathered on
those committees.
2. The Board, through any of its Directors and with the collaboration
from the members of the top management they consider appropriate, may
organise informative meetings on the running of the Company and its Group,
with shareholders who live in the most relevant financial cities in Spain
and in other countries.
3. In its relations with the shareholders, the Board of Directors shall
guarantee equal treatment.
4. The Board of Directors shall encourage informed participation by the
shareholders at the General Meetings of Shareholders and shall take age
appropriate measures to ensure the General Meeting of Shareholders
effectively performs the duties inherent to it according to the Act and
Articles of Association.
Article 40. Relations with the institutional shareholders.
1. The Board of Directors shall also establish the appropriate
mechanisms for regular information exchange with the institutional
shareholders who form part of the Company shareholding.
In particular, the information shall concern investment strategies,
evaluation of results, composition of the actual Board of Directors and
management efficiency.
2. Under no circumstances shall relations between the Board of Directors
and the institutional shareholders lead to delivery to these of information
that may provide them an advantage over the other shareholders.
Article 41. Transactions with significant shareholders.
1. The Board of Directors formally reserves knowledge and authorisation
of any transaction between the company and any of its shareholders with
significant stakes.
2. Under no circumstances shall it authorise the transaction if it has
not previously issued a report by the Nominating, Compensation and Corporate
Governance Committee appraising the operation from the point of view of the
principle of parity treatment of shareholders and the market conditions of
same.
3. In the case of ordinary transactions, authorisation of the
generic operation of the class or type of operation and its general
conditions shall suffice.
Article 42. Relations with the markets.
1. The Board of Directors will perform all the duties imposed by the
nature of the company issuing the listed securities.
2. In particular, the Board shall perform the following specific duties in
relation to the Stock Exchange in the manner foreseen in these Regulations:
a. Supervision of periodic public information of a financial nature.
b. Performance of all acts and adoption of as many measures as are required to
ensure the transparency of the Company on the financial markets, reporting
to these, in particular, on all events, decisions or circumstances that may
be relevant for the share listing.
c. Performance of all acts and adoption of as many measures as are required to
ensure correct formation of the share prices of the Company and, when
appropriate, its subsidiaries, avoiding, in particular, manipulations and
insider dealing
3. The Board of Directors shall take the necessary measures to ensure that
the semester, quarterly and any other financial information that caution
advises be placed on the markets is prepared according to the same principles,
criteria and professional practices with which the Annual Accounts are prepared,
and that they are as reliable as the latter. To that end, that information will
be reviewed by the Audit and Control Committee.
1. The Board of Directors will, at all times, ensure the due safeguard of data
and information on securities issued by the Company, notwithstanding its
duty of communication and collaboration with the judicial or administrative
authorities, preventing such data or information being subject to abusive or
disloyal use, denouncing cases in which this take place and immediately
taking the necessary measures available to it to prevent, avoid and, when
appropriate, correct the consequences that may arise there from.
Article 43. Relations with the Accounts Auditor.
Through the Audit and Control Committee, the Board of Directors shall establish
a stable, professional relation with the Accounts Auditor to the Company,
strictly respecting its independence.
The Board of Directors shall ensure it definitively formulates the accounts in
such a manner that no exceptions are raised by the Auditor. However, when the
Board considers it must maintain its criteria, it shall publicly explain the
content and scope of the discrepancies.
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