Following a year of efforts by DSW, BETTER FINANCE member and Germany’s largest investor association, Deutsche Bank has agreed to undergo a special investigation by an external auditing firm. The audit will serve to determine whether the current risk control systems of the bank are sufficient and able to determine legal risks that could lead to the need for higher provisions at an early stage. In the words of Ulrich Hocker, president of DSW, besides being a success for the negotiating team, this outcome also represents an unprecedented win for shareholders on a wider scale, since this examination will finally provide clarity on whether the bank’s controls are effective and sufficient in order to prevent notable cases such as the scandal surrounding the manipulation of the interbank interest rate, Libor.
DSW had already publicly announced its intention to call for a special audit ahead of last year's General Assembly of Deutsche Bank. DSW was successful in mobilising the number of shareholders necessary to add an additional item to the General Assembly’s agenda. More than that, in the end nearly a million voting shares were registered to this end, five times more than necessary. However, due to majority ratios and the voting system it was clear from the outset that the request put forth at the General Assembly would not be implemented, even though the approval rate was surprisingly high at 14%. DSW therefore decided to enforce the resolution through the courts.
In the end an out of court agreement was reached, with both parties agreeing on BDO as a potential special auditor. Once finalised, the audit report will be available to shareholders of Deutsche Bank via the website of the Bank.
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