Annual report 2006 - Dexia.com

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Dexia SA Shareholders’ Meeting
The Ordinary Shareholders’ Meeting, a high point of the company
year, benefits from a special information system: in official
notices published in the Belgian Gazette in Belgium, and
in the legal announcement bulletin, the BALO, in France; in
notices published in the national press media in Belgium and
France; with information provided by the toll-free number; in
a notice of meeting available in English, French and Dutch
that can also be downloaded from the internet.
Shareholders’ meetings are broadcast live on the internet,
allowing shareholders who cannot attend to follow the
debates and resolutions at the meetings.
As requested by the Belgian Company Code, the level of
shareholding for the submission of proposals during a shareholders’
meeting by a shareholder is 20%.
The internet site (www.dexia.com)
With 64,500 visitors per month, a 33% increase from 2005
levels, www.dexia.com strengthened its role as a major source
of information on the Dexia Group for individual shareholders,
journalists and institutional investors. The site is practical
in structure, giving quick access to all information on the life
of the Group, its activities, its latest news, a list with prices and
values of all the Group’s investment funds and ethical funds,
and the Dexia share price.
During 2006, there were more than 46,000 visitors to the
“You are a shareholder” section, with visits up approximately
33% compared to 2005.
The site provides access to the Group’s main publications
such as annual and quarterly reports, as well as press releases,
information letters to shareholders, and daily and monthly
reports on the Dexia share.
In French, Dutch and English, the trilingual Dexia site is consulted
for the most part by European surfers, principally Belgian
and French.
The European Advisory Committee of Individual
Shareholders
Created in June 2001, Dexia’s European Advisory Board of
Individual Shareholders took over from the shareholders’ advisory
board of Dexia France, formed in 1997. Its composition
reflects the Group’s European identity: the committee is composed
of four shareholders from Belgium, five shareholders
from France and three shareholders from Luxembourg.
Its role is to advise the Group in its communication policy with
regard to individual shareholders.
The Advisory Committee met two times in 2006 to review the
Group’s results. The Committee was strongly urged to comment
on the new edition of the Individual Shareholder Guide
that was issued during that year. Each year, one of the Committee’s
members participates in the Ordinary Shareholders’
Meeting and reports on the Committee’s activities over the
past year.
Telephone information service for shareholders
The service is available in France free of charge at
0800 35 50 00, Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM until
7:00 PM. Shareholders regularly make use of it for questions
relating to the share price, the tax status of Dexia shares, dividend
amounts and method of taxation, VVPR strips and the
Ordinary Shareholders’ Meeting of Dexia SA.
As from 2007, a bilingual (French-Dutch) toll-free number
for shareholders in Belgium and Luxembourg is available at
00 800 33 942 942 (only from a fixed telephone line).
Relations with institutional shareholders
Relations with institutional shareholders, who hold about
30% of the capital, are extremely important to Dexia. For this
purpose, the Investor Relations department deploys a team
based partly in Brussels and partly in Paris, which is specifically
responsible for relations with investors and analysts.
Regular information channels
In 2006, Dexia organized an important meeting in Paris for
analysts and investors of all nationalities; the goal of this
meeting, 10 years after the creation of Dexia, was not only
to provide information on the last decade’s activities, but also
to outline the Group’s outlook over 3, 5, and 10 year time
horizons.
During the year, Dexia regularly publishes information through
quarterly and annual activity reports, theme presentations and
press releases on the business, financial results and Group
news. All this information is available as from publication on
the website www.dexia.com on the page “You are an Investor”.
It can also be obtained by e-mail.
In 2006, there was a wealth of financial news from Dexia,
which resulted in the preparation of 69 publications, including
4 activity reports, 34 ad hoc presentations and 31 press
releases.
Contact with institutional shareholders
After each presentation of results or in other circumstances,
information meetings are organized throughout the world
with the major institutional investors, who can then ask questions
about the Group’s results or strategy directly to the
members of the Management Board or Dexia’s management.
In 2006, the Management of the Group, assisted by the Investor
Relations team, met several hundred investors in 17 countries
and 20 cities.
CIRCULAR FMI/2003-02 FROM THE BANKING,
FINANCE AND INSURANCE COMMISSION
A Royal Decree of March 31, 2003 “concerning the obligations
of issuers of financial instruments listed for trading on a
Belgian regulated market” stipulates the obligations of issuers
with regard to the information to be provided to the public
and their obligations to holders of financial instruments. In
July 2003, the Banking, Finance and Insurance Commission
published a circular explaining and interpreting this Royal
Decree.
MANAGEMENT REPORT
COMPTES CONSOLIDÉS
COMPTES SOCIAUX
Dexia / Annual Report 2006 | 27