Rules and Policies

Rules on the Eligibility of Key Employees

Arctica Finance has issued rules on the basis of laws and the rules of the Financial Supervisory Authority, wherein key employees are listed as well as the rules stating what Arctica Finance demands of its key employees, which is stricter than the demands placed on other employees.

• Rules on the Eligibility of Arctica Finance hf.'s Key Employess

Rules on Handling of Information on Clients

Arctica Finance has issued rules in accordance with Act on Financial Undertakings on handling of information on clients. Those rules state how information is to be communicated to internal audit, supervisory authorities and the police, and how supervision of the implementation of the rules is arranged. The rules can be found in Icelandic:

• Reglur um meðferð upplýsinga um viðskiptavini

Rules on Employees' Securities Transactions

Arctica Finance has issued rules on the basis of Act on Financial Undertakings and Act on Securities Transactions, with reference to regulation on investor protection and the business conduct of financial undertakings, on employees' securities transactions. The aim of the rules is to prevent that securities transactions of Arctica Finance's employees, management and other related parties conflict with the interests of the company's clients. The rules can be found in Icelandic:

• Rules on Employees' Securities Transactions

Personal Data Protection Policy

Arctica Finance has in accordance with Act no. 90/2018 in place a Personal Data Protection Policy, which can be found here.

Policy on sustainability and social responsibility

Arctica Finance has adopted a policy on sustainability and social responsibility with reference to the act on financial undertakings, the act on equal treatment on the labour market, and the act of equal status and equal rights irrespective of gender. The goal of the policy is to define Arctica Finance's emphasis on sustainability and corporate social responsibility and to describe how Arctica Finance intends to adopt those emphasis in its operations. At the same time, the policy serves as a guide for employees and managers who are obligated to comply with the contents of the policy.

Sustainability refers to integration of three main pillars, which are people, profit and planet. The concept of sustainability is defined in the Brundtland report (1987) as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. Sustainability describes when the emphasis is placed on using what is available without having a harmful effect on the earth and thereby hopefully preserving the earth's resources for future generations.

Social responsibility refers to making decisions that are not only about one's own immediate interests, but also taking into account ESG factors. The European Commission has defined corporate social responsibility as the responsibility of companies for their impact on society.

Arctica Finance's policy specifies the company's emphasis on environmental issues, social aspects and corporate governance (ESG). With an emphasis on ESG issues, work is being done for the interests of Arctica Finance, the company's clients and the society as a whole for the future, and promoting healthy business practices, good governance and a positive impact on the environment, social aspects and corporate governance.

In addition to ESG factors, Arctica Finance's policy outlines the company's goals for responsible purchasing and responsible investments.

In September 2020, Arctica signed a joint declaration of intent between the Icelandic government and entities that represent close to 80% of assets on the Icelandic financial market, regarding investments in the interest of sustainable development. With that, Arctica undertook to take into account “the international obligations of Iceland and the standards that the Icelandic government has set for itself. These include the goal of a carbon-neutral Iceland no later than 2040, the Paris Agreement's goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions so that global warming does not exceed 1.5 degrees, and the United Nations' global goals for sustainable development by 2030. Depending on the circumstances, ESG, the United Nations' Principles for Responsible Banking (UN PRB), the United Nations' Principles for Responsible Investments (UN PRI), the UN Global Compact, etc.

Since January 2019, Arctica Finance has been a member of IcelandSif, which is an educational platform for responsible investments that contribute to enhancing investors' knowledge of the methodology of sustainable and responsible investments.

Annually, Arctica Finance issues a report with non-financial information which entails ESG factors and is published in a separate section of the annual accounts, which can be found in Icelandic on this website.