The head of the supervisory board has advocated more down-to-earthness at Commerzbank.
(Photo: dpa)
Frankfurt Helmut Gottschalk certainly imagined his last day as Chairman of the Commerzbank Supervisory Board differently. The digital general meeting, which the 71-year-old chaired for the last time on Wednesday, was overshadowed by numerous technical problems.
The speech by Andreas Thomae from Deka Investment, who, like many other shareholders, was connected via video call, broke off after a short time. The connection also broke on the second attempt before Thomae had finished the day before. The investor then decided against a third attempt.
The connection did hold with Klaus Nieding, the vice president of the German Association for the Protection of Securities (DSW). However, it was so loud that Nieding was sometimes difficult to understand.
Shareholder Bernd Heckmann’s contribution was delayed because initially it could only be heard but not seen. “Obviously there are problems here,” Gottschalk said.
Shareholder Ulrich Giebel’s presentation was postponed due to technical difficulties, which annoyed him greatly. “I have the impression that the chairman of the meeting is not in a position to ensure that the general meeting proceeds properly, and I am therefore submitting a motion to vote the chairman out of office,” said Giebel.
“They simply don’t have the technology under control,” complained the shareholder. In the subsequent vote, however, 99.99 percent were against Gottschalk’s dismissal.
DSW criticizes “canning event”
Several shareholders criticized the digital version of the general meeting – not only because of the technical problems. “This canned event here with a kind of board TV is not suitable for shareholders to identify with our company,” said DSW Vice President Nieding.
It is important that the board of directors and the supervisory board also get a feel for the mood among the shareholders at a face-to-face event through expressions of applause and dissatisfaction. “I consider this to be of fundamental importance for real feedback, because otherwise you live and work more or less isolated in your own bubble all year round.”
>>> Also read: Commerzbank does not convince investors despite the jump in profits – the share collapses
The majority of DAX companies held their general meetings digitally this year. The problems at Commerzbank should now provide the critics of this format with further arguments to demand a return to face-to-face events.
CEO Manfred Knof defended the digital shareholder meeting despite all the problems. “Live speaking and questioning rights via video communication mean that there is an opportunity to interact with management,” he said.
Commerzbank will decide every year whether shareholder meetings will continue to take place digitally in the future or again in person. “The experience with this year’s virtual general meeting will also be incorporated.”
Weidmann is committed to Commerzbank
The fund companies Union Investment and DWS were not only critical of the digital shareholders’ meeting, but also of the planned election of Harald Christ to the supervisory board “due to the accumulation of offices”. Deutsche Bank subsidiary DWS also voted against the election of Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell for the same reason.
Christ is the managing partner of his consulting firm, Christ & Company. In addition, the former FDP treasurer is the head of the supervisory board of the shipping company Ernst Russ AG, which generated sales of 192 million euros last year.
Former ECB Executive Board member Tumpel-Gugerell is a member of the supervisory boards of the Austrian stock corporations OMV, Vienna Insurance and AT&S.
Gottschalk said Tumpel-Gugerell and Christ adhered to the statutory mandate limits and had enough time for their supervisory board activities at Commerzbank. Christ told the Handelsblatt that he was aware of the task at Commerzbank and had the necessary technical and time capacities to do justice to this task.
After the annual general meeting, former Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann is to be elected as the new head of the supervisory board. Most shareholders like that. However, some are irritated by the fact that Weidmann is also being traded as a candidate for the top post at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which will become vacant at the end of 2024.
According to Gottschalk, however, Weidmann told the Commerzbank supervisory board “that such a mandate is not currently pending”. Weidmann has assured that if he is elected to the Supervisory Board, “this mandate will be the focus for him in the future”.
Fund manager Alexandra Annecke from Union Investment asked Weidmann to monitor management like Gottschalk. “Keep an eye on the costs and sometimes be uncomfortable for the board.”
More: Balance sheet check: Commerzbank is celebrating its comeback – and wants to remain independent.