Covid-19 is a new systemic risk. What are the implications for governance?

A long-term perspective—and a grounding in ethics and values more generally—should guide both investor and board responses.

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Covid-19 emerged in December 2019 and has quickly become a global crisis that threatens the health of individuals and the welfare of societies on a vast scale, including its impact on global economic activity and growth.
The ongoing—and profound—uncertainties create great challenges for corporates, their boards and their investors as they contemplate how best to navigate these difficult and dynamic times.
Covid-19 clearly meets the International Corporate Governance Network’s (IGCN) criteria of a systemic risk as put forward in ICGN’s Guidance on Investor Fiduciary Duties: “The nature of systemic risk is that it builds over ti
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