Cable wants more scrutiny of companies to restore trust

By Sarah Mortimer | 22 November 2012

(Reuters) — UK Business Secretary Vince Cable will renew calls to boost scrutiny of companies in a bid to rein in reckless behaviour, avoid another crisis and bring back trust in financial markets.

Cable wants to increase regulation to rein in executive pay schemes and change the way company directors measure their performance by scrapping quarterly reporting, he told institutional investors at the Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) Corporate Governance Conference on Thursday.

The business secretary submitted a written ministerial statement to Parliament supporting proposals for new governance standards by the Kay Report to get rid of short-term profit-seeking in equity markets

The Kay Review of UK Equity Markets and Long-Term Decision Making was commissioned by Vince Cable in response to the takeover of confectioner Cadbury by U.S. rival Kraft Foods , which critics said was driven by short-term investors seeking a quick reward.

Read the full article