SANTA MONICA, Calif. & TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dalton Investments LLC, a registered investment advisor based in Santa Monica, California, announced today the submission of a Shareholder Proposal to elect James Rosenwald, Dalton’s Founder, as an Independent Director to the Board of Shinsei Bank. Dalton currently owns more than 6% of the outstanding shares of Shinsei Bank. The proposal will be voted upon at Shinsei’s annual meeting, to be held on June 19, 2019.
“We are long-term shareholders of Shinsei Bank, and have been patient investors in the stock,” said Mr. Rosenwald. “We believe Shinsei Bank needs to strengthen its commitment to building value for all shareholders, especially the taxpayers of Japan, who saved the bank. If elected to the Board, I intend to work every day to enhance the value of the shares.
“Our goals are simple: we want to make Shinsei the safest, best-capitalized large bank in Japan, and to create a financial foundation that makes possible the repayment of taxpayers in whole and improves return on equity. The best way to accomplish these goals is by selling assets, shrinking the company, and using excess capital to buy back shares.
“While we applaud the recent announcement by the Board to repurchase shares as a good first step, we feel that the stock buyback needs to proceed at a much faster pace if the taxpayer is to be repaid in full. In addition, Shinsei should avoid distracting initiatives such as joint ventures with other banks, namely Suruga, and instead focus first on its own balance sheet.
“Until the taxpayer has been repaid, I intend to take a Director’s Fee of only one yen per year as I believe this would be the right and honorable policy for non-executive directors. We must work hard to make the taxpayers whole.”
About Dalton Investments, LLC
Dalton Investments, LLC, is a US-based firm, registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and the Japanese Ministry of Finance. It advises institutional clients in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. Several of Dalton’s Japanese investment team, based at their office in Tokyo, serve on the boards of publicly-traded firms in Japan as independent directors.