Spanish banking giant Banco Santander has announced it used blockchain technology for investor voting at its annual general meeting (AGM).
The pilot was run in collaboration with fintech company Broadridge, as well as J.P. Morgan and Northern Trust as custodian banks, on March 23rd. It also saw participation from Banco Santander Corporate Services as the issuer's agent and Santander's blockchain lab.
Blockchain technology was used to produce a "shadow" digital register of the proxy voting taking place during Santander’s AGM using the conventional voting model. The technology enhances global proxy vote transparency and increases operational efficiency, security and analytics, the release stated.
"The blockchain technology has enhanced efficiency and transparency upon the reception and vote tabulation process, which will result in bridging the gap between all in the process,” Luis Antonio Perez, head of Corporate Services at Banco Santander, said.
During the voting process, Santander’s institutional investors were able to see how their votes could be counted and confirmed much more quickly by employing blockchain technology, as compared to traditional voting process. The participation for the new platform amounted to 21% of the total that participated in the AGM, Santander said.
"The Annual General Meeting is one of the most important corporate governance events for any listed company. In the case of Santander, having very fragmented capital, it is very important to ensure the participation by investors and shareholders, and this year using blockchain technology for the institutional vote has been a great help in terms of transparency and agility across the vote lifecycle,” Sergio Gámez, global head of Shareholders and Investor Relations at Banco Santander, said.
