Meetings
The average number of meetings convened per year is 9.2. The Bel 20 companies held more (9.7) meetings on average compared with the Bel Mid (9). The number of meetings across both indices ranged from two to 20 per company. The average number of meetings has increased since 2021, with fewer companies holding four to five meetings annually and more companies holding eight to nine or 12 or more meetings annually. The most common annual frequency range recorded among Belgian boards remains between six and nine.
|
4–5 |
6–7 |
8–9 |
10–11 |
12 or more |
|
Percentage
of companies
|
5.1%
|
25.4%
|
32.2%
|
10.2%
|
23.7%
|
Board evaluation
The 2020 Belgian Corporate Governance Code recommends that companies conduct a board evaluation every two or three years. This can be carried out internally or by using an external facilitator.
95% of Belgian companies carried out a full board assessment in the period under review, a big increase (80%) compared to the 52.6% recorded last year. Of those, 20% of companies used an external firm, up from 7% last year. Among Bel 20 companies, 25% used an external firm, 65% conducted a review internally, and 10% did not carry out an evaluation. Among the Bel Mid companies, 15% used a third party, 82% conducted a review internally and one company, Xior Student Housing, did not undergo an evaluation this year.