Hermes urges VW shareholders to not discharge management, sup board

[May 09, 2017]  BERLIN (Reuters) - Investment advisory firm Hermes EOS has urged Volkswagen  shareholders not to clear the carmaker's management and supervisory boards from responsibility for actions taken in 2016, citing VW's failure to resolve long-standing corporate governance and transparency issues.

A man uses phone under a Volkswagen logo at the Shanghai Auto Show, in Shanghai, China April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song

A day before VW's annual shareholder meeting in Hanover, Germany, Hermes called on VW to publish key findings of its investigation into the emissions scandal, criticized the carmaker's efforts to improve corporate culture and demanded an independent review of its supervisory board.

"We think that Volkswagen has failed to systematically address those problems to date," Hermes, which represents large institutional investors, said on Tuesday in an emailed statement.

(Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Maria Sheahan)

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