The former DWS CEO received a severance payment of 8.15 million euros.
(Photo: dpa)
Frankfurt The fund company DWS is threatened with new trouble at the general meeting. Influential shareholder advisor Glass Lewis is advising shareholders of the Deutsche Bank subsidiary to reject the remuneration report at the June 15 meeting, according to information from financial circles. Reason: Glass Lewis believes that the severance package for former DWS CEO Asoka Wöhrmann is excessive.
Until the middle of last year Woehrmann at the head of DWS, then he had to give up his post because of a greenwashing affair. The former head of sustainability at DWS, Desiree Fixler, had accused the fund company of systematically exaggerating its commitment to ecological and socially responsible investments. DWS rejected the allegations, but supervisors in the US and Germany began investigations.
After a raid in connection with the greenwashing allegations, Wöhrmann formally resigned voluntarily in June 2022 and received a severance payment of 8.15 million euros. In addition, he was paid his Management Board salary of EUR 5.6 million for the year as a whole. Despite the resignation, his employment contract – and thus his salary entitlement – only ended in January 2023.
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Glass Lewis believes the severance package is too high and urges shareholders to question whether the payments to the ex-DWS boss are really the best use of the company’s capital. The British specialist medium “Financial News” was the first to report on the criticism of the shareholder advisors. Deutsche Bank does not want to comment on the discussion about the severance package.
Glass Lewis is also not satisfied with the payment of Wöhrmann’s successor, Stefan Hoops. Hoops, who managed Deutsche Bank’s corporate business before taking office at the fund subsidiary, has negotiated a higher salary package for his new job. His target salary is 6.8 million euros. The sum consists of a fixed salary of 2.8 million euros and a target bonus of four million euros.
The bonus relates to a target achievement of 100 percent. If Hoops exceeds his targets, he can be awarded 150 percent of the variable remuneration, i.e. up to six million euros. Predecessor Wöhrmann had a fixed salary of 2.4 million euros and a target bonus of 3.6 million euros. Glass Lewis criticizes that Hoops’ fixed salary is far too high compared to the competition.
DWS emphasizes that the remuneration of the board of directors is regularly reviewed with the support of external experts, also with a view to the competition. The shareholders would have accepted the current remuneration system at the general meeting of the fund company in 2021 with a majority of more than 99 percent.
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