Publication: Disclosure of Beneficial Ownership after the Panama Papers
Loading...
Published
2016
ISSN
Date
2016-11-22
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Publication of the so-called “Panama Papers” focused public interest on how certain politicians, celebrities, and other elites may have used elaborate corporate structures and offshore tax havens to conceal their beneficial ownership of companies and obscure their personal assets. Rather than taking the Panama Papers as an indication of the need for more and stricter disclosure and reporting rules, this paper advocates an alternative approach. We need to start by acknowledging that many companies are currently experiencing "disclosure and reporting fatigue", in which the constant demand for “more” and “better” transparency and reporting is having the unintended effect of promoting indifference or evasiveness. The practice of disclosure and reporting is widely perceived as an obligation to be fulfilled and not as an opportunity to add value to a firm. This is confirmed by the findings of an empirical study conducted by the authors of this paper that examines how disclosure rules operate in practice across various jurisdictions. The key takeaway of the study is that—even in jurisdictions that have a robust disclosure regime—the majority of firms engage in “grudging” or “boilerplate” compliance, in which ownership and control structures are not adequately revealed in an accessible way and, perhaps more importantly, the impact of these ownership and control structures on the governance of a company is obscured. In this paper the authors advocate an approach based on the current communication strategy of a minority of firms in their sample—firms that engage in what the authors characterize as “open communication.” These firms present information on control structures—and their effect on governance—in a direct, accessible, and highly personalized manner. Such firms seem to recognize the commercial and other strategic benefits to be gained from open communication. The paper explores the implications of such an approach for both business and regulators.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Fenwick, Mark; Vermeulen, Erik P.M.. 2016. Disclosure of Beneficial Ownership after the Panama Papers. © International Finance Corporation. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25408 License: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication The Russia Corporate Governance Manual : Part IV. Information Disclosure and Transparency(Washington, DC, 2004-09-17)The Russia corporate governance manual has been divided into and is published in six parts: (i) corporate governance introduced; (ii) good board practices; (iii) shareholder rights; (iv) information disclosure and transparency; (v) special focus section; and (vi) annexes model corporate governance documents. The first four parts contain chapters that focus on core corporate governance issues, such as a company's board structure, information disclosure practices, and shareholder rights. Part five focuses on corporate governance issues of particular importance in the Russian context, namely corporate governance concerns during a company's reorganization, within holding structures, and relating to enforcement. Part six, finally, offers practical tools in the form of model documents, for example company codes, by-laws, and contracts. All issues are closely examined through Russian law and regulations; the Federal Commission for the Securities Market's Code of Corporate Conduct (FCSM Code) Code and, when applicable, internationally recognized best practices. This manual also provides government officials, lawyers, judges, investors, and others with a framework for assessing the level of corporate governance practices in Russian companies. Finally, it serves as a reference tool for the educational institutions that will train the next generation of Russian managers, investors, and policy makers on good corporate governance practices.Publication The Russia Corporate Governance Manual : Part VI. Annexes, Model Corporate Governance Documents(Washington, DC, 2004-09-17)The Russia corporate governance manual has been divided into and is published in six parts: (i) corporate governance introduced; (ii) good board practices; (iii) shareholder rights; (iv) information disclosure and transparency; (v) special focus section; and (vi) annexes model corporate governance documents. The first four parts contain chapters that focus on core corporate governance issues, such as a company's board structure, information disclosure practices, and shareholder rights. Part five focuses on corporate governance issues of particular importance in the Russian context, namely corporate governance concerns during a company's reorganization, within holding structures, and relating to enforcement. Part six, finally, offers practical tools in the form of model documents, for example company codes, by-laws, and contracts. All issues are closely examined through Russian law and regulations; the Federal Commission for the Securities Market's Code of Corporate Conduct (FCSM Code) Code and, when applicable, internationally recognized best practices. This manual also provides government officials, lawyers, judges, investors, and others with a framework for assessing the level of corporate governance practices in Russian companies. Finally, it serves as a reference tool for the educational institutions that will train the next generation of Russian managers, investors, and policy makers on good corporate governance practices.Publication Bank Ownership and Performance in the Middle East and North Africa Region(2011-04-01)Although both domestic and foreign private banks have gained ground in MENA in recent years, state banks continue to play an important role in many countries. Using a MENA bank-level panel dataset for the period 2001-08, the paper contributes to the empirical literature by documenting recent ownership trends and assessing the role of ownership and bank performance in MENA while accounting for key bank characteristics such as size and balance sheet composition. The paper analyzes headline performance indicators as well as their key drivers and finds that state banks exhibit significantly weaker performance, despite their larger size. This result is mainly driven by a larger holding of government securities, higher costs due to larger staffing numbers, and larger loan loss provisions reflecting weaker asset quality. The results reflect both operational inefficiencies and policy mandates. The paper also provides a detailed performance analysis of foreign and listed banks. Foreign banks are fairly new in MENA, yet perform on par with domestic banks despite their smaller size and higher investment costs. Listed banks exhibit superior performance driven by higher interest margins even in the face of higher costs associated with listing. Taken together, the results do not reject the development role for state banks, but do show that their intervention comes at a cost. As such, there is scope to reduce the share of state banks in some countries and to clarify the mandates, improve the governance, and strengthen the operational efficiency of most state banks in MENA.Publication Beneficial Ownership Registers(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-04-26)This EFI Insight distills critical insights from the implementation of Beneficial Ownership Registers (BORs) in Nigeria, North Macedonia, Kenya, and the United Kingdom. The experiences of these countries offer valuable lessons for similar reform efforts worldwide aimed at enhancing beneficial ownership transparency.Publication Corporate Governance Country Assessment : Colombia(Washington, DC, 2003-08)This report assesses the corporate governance policy framework, enforcement and compliance practices in Colombia. The capital markets are small relative to the economy and trading volume is low equity trading totals about USD one million, as compared to USD one billion in fixed income trading. The corporate sector is largely owned and controlled by family groups and conglomerates. The challenge is to create an environment where medium-sized companies can raise capital in the market and help them make the transition from tightly-controlled family firms to public companies. While pension funds represent a large and rapidly growing source of funds, they are reluctant to invest in equities. It has been demonstrated across countries that capital market development correlates positively with the degree of shareholder protection and good corporate governance. Awareness of the importance of corporate governance issues is growing. Success stories of privatizations linked with good corporate governance highlight the importance of the issue. Colombia is an interesting example of the interplay between legal changes and voluntary initiatives based on the incentive to attract capital. It has put a minimum corporate governance disclosure regime in place for companies that wish to be eligible for pension fund investments. The report recommends (i) the adoption of a securities bill as proposed by the securities regulator supevalores; (ii) the adoption of International Accounting Standards (IAS) and International Standards on Auditing (ISA) and the creation of an independent audit oversight board; (iii) improved enforcement; (iii) enhanced monitoring of compliance with the code of good governance, for example by introducing a comply-or-explain requirement; and (iv) the creation of a director training organization.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Lebanon Economic Monitor, Fall 2022(Washington, DC, 2022-11)The economy continues to contract, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Public finances improved in 2021, but only because spending collapsed faster than revenue generation. Testament to the continued atrophy of Lebanon’s economy, the Lebanese Pound continues to depreciate sharply. The sharp deterioration in the currency continues to drive surging inflation, in triple digits since July 2020, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. An unprecedented institutional vacuum will likely further delay any agreement on crisis resolution and much needed reforms; this includes prior actions as part of the April 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA). Divergent views among key stakeholders on how to distribute the financial losses remains the main bottleneck for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive reform agenda. Lebanon needs to urgently adopt a domestic, equitable, and comprehensive solution that is predicated on: (i) addressing upfront the balance sheet impairments, (ii) restoring liquidity, and (iii) adhering to sound global practices of bail-in solutions based on a hierarchy of creditors (starting with banks’ shareholders) that protects small depositors.Publication Business Ready 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-03)Business Ready (B-READY) is a new World Bank Group corporate flagship report that evaluates the business and investment climate worldwide. It replaces and improves upon the Doing Business project. B-READY provides a comprehensive data set and description of the factors that strengthen the private sector, not only by advancing the interests of individual firms but also by elevating the interests of workers, consumers, potential new enterprises, and the natural environment. This 2024 report introduces a new analytical framework that benchmarks economies based on three pillars: Regulatory Framework, Public Services, and Operational Efficiency. The analysis centers on 10 topics essential for private sector development that correspond to various stages of the life cycle of a firm. The report also offers insights into three cross-cutting themes that are relevant for modern economies: digital adoption, environmental sustainability, and gender. B-READY draws on a robust data collection process that includes specially tailored expert questionnaires and firm-level surveys. The 2024 report, which covers 50 economies, serves as the first in a series that will expand in geographical coverage and refine its methodology over time, supporting reform advocacy, policy guidance, and further analysis and research.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.