Corporate action

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A corporate action — in ISDAspeak, a Corporate Event, with regard to a security is an extraordinary event which changes the capital structure of the organisation — for example, a merger, takeover, rights issue, stock split, restructuring — which obliges a shareholder to make a vote or exercise an election of some kind. To be distinguished from a normal annual general meeting —part of the peacetime governance of any publicly traded company, which, though giving rise to opportunities to vote, is not regarded as a corporate action as such.

Corporate actions can get tasty in the context of a stock lending arrangement, if the Borrower is short the security in question on the record date.

See also

• Corporate actions under the 2010 GMSLA
• Extraordinary Event in the 2002 ISDA Equity Derivatives Definitions