The Board’s rules of procedure

The principles applied by the Board in its regular work are set out in the rules of procedure approved by the Board. These rules were approved in 2009. The Board considers all the matters stipulated to be the responsibility of a board of directors by legislation, other provisions and the company’s Articles of Association. The most important of these are the annual and interim financial statements, the matters to be put before General Meetings of shareholders, the appointment of the President and CEO and the organization of financial supervision in the company.

The Board is also responsible for considering any matters that are so far-reaching with respect to the quality of the Group’s operations that they cannot be considered to fall within the scope of the Group’s day-to-day administration, such as approval of the Group’s strategic plan and long-term goals, approval of the Group’s annual business plan and budget, decisions concerning investments, acquisitions or divestments that are significant or that deviate from the Group’s strategy, decisions to raise loans and the granting of security or similar collateral commitments when their size is significant, risk management principles, the Group’s organizational structure, appointment of the company’s Management team, approval of remuneration and pension benefits, monitoring and assessing the performance of the President and CEO and approval of the company’s management principles and steering systems.

In addition to matters requiring its decision, the Board is also given updates at its meetings on the Group’s operations, financial position and risks.