The Qatari ruling family has long been invested in Deutsche Bank, and there is only speculation about the current level of the stake.
(Photo: imago images/Hannelore Förster)
Frankfurt There has been much speculation about the true stake of the Qatari ruling Al Thani family in Deutsche Bank. Former Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his cousin, former Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, officially held 6.1 percent of the shares through two investment vehicles for years. But there have always been rumors that the Al Thanis together actually control almost ten percent of the institute, possibly through derivative constructions.
A recent voting rights notification by Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al Thani now shows that his influence, at least, is greater than previously known. Accordingly, his fund Paramount Services Holdings controls 4.54 percent of Deutsche Bank shares. So far, only 3.05 percent of the shares have been attributed to Paramount.
Normally, voting rights only have to be published if they exceed or fall below certain thresholds, such as three percent or five percent. That was not the case with Paramount. According to the announcement, the background to the publication is a “voluntary group announcement due to reorganization at the subsidiary level”. Deutsche Bank declined to comment on the background to the announcement.
No such announcement was made by Supreme Universal Holdings, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani’s investment firm, on Wednesday. This may be because there was no reorganization there that could have been a reason for it. However, it is obvious that Supreme Universal’s share is similar to that of Paramount Services, since the funds have always invested the same amount at Deutsche Bank in the past.
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The fact that there was so much speculation about the true level of Deutsche Bank’s stake in Qatar was due to a message that the bank sent out in July 2016. At that time it was about the appointment of today’s Deutsche Bank board member Stefan Simon to the bank’s supervisory board, since Simon was elected to the board with the consent of the Qataris. In this context, the bank wrote: “The two shareholders had informed Deutsche Bank that they had increased their shares to almost five percent each.” The share, which officially exceeded 3.05 percent, has not yet been recorded.
More: Qatar: How a small emirate is expanding its influence on the German economy