Leiv Askvig has, on his own initiative, resigned from his positions as chairman of the boards of directors of Oslo Børs VPS Holding ASA and Oslo Børs ASA. The reason for this is that in the late afternoon of 27 November 2013 the company Sundt AS exceeded the 20% limit for a notifiable change of shareholding in respect of EAM Solar ASA, but notification of this was not sent to Oslo Børs until 11:56 on 28 November 2013. Leiv Askvig is the Managing Director of Sundt AS.
"It was not the intention to go over the limit, but because I did not have a complete overview of the shareholding at that time we did exceed the 20% limit. This was discovered and notified some few hours too late, but it is nonetheless a breach of the rules", comments Leiv Askvig.
It is of crucial importance for confidence in Oslo Børs and the Norwegian securities market that participants in the market comply with the exchange's laws and regulations. The board of directors of Oslo Børs plays an important role in maintaining confidence in the market and in carrying out the duties delegated to the exchange.
"Confidence in, and compliance with, the rules and regulations is of crucial importance for the proper operation of the marketplace, therefore I have elected to withdraw from my position as chairman of the board in these companies with immediate effect", says Leiv Askvig. He is also resigning from his position as a member of the board of Verdipapirsentralen ASA.
Leiv Askvig has been chairman of the boards of both Oslo Børs ASA and Oslo Børs VPS Holding ASA, and also a member of the board of Verdipapirsentralen ASA, since 2009.
The deputy chair, Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer, will take over as acting chair of the boards of both companies until the annual general meeting in May 2014.
"Leiv Askvig has done an excellent job as a member of the various boards in the group over the last five years. It is accordingly a great pity that he now has to leave. The board of Oslo Børs manages the rules and regulations, and as a result carries much of the responsibility for confidence in Oslo Børs, so I have both respect and understanding for his decision", comments Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer.