Deutsche Bank’s DWS to keep ESG focus after greenwashing claims

DEUTSCHE Bank’s investment unit will keep its focus on sustainability after facing claims of greenwashing that contributed to the resignation of the chief executive officer, according to DWS Group supervisory board chairman Karl von Roh.

The German lender backs “unconditionally the strategy and financial targets” of DWS, von Rohr, who’s also a deputy Deutsche Bank CEO, said in prepared remarks for the asset manager’s annual general meeting on Thursday. “We’re also keeping the focus on environmental, social and governance issues known as ESG.”

The chairman’s comments come just days after DWS CEO Asoka Woehrmann resigned in the immediate aftermath of a police raid on the firm’s Frankfurt headquarters over claims that it overstated its ESG capabilities to investors. The event has been seen by some observers as a turning point for an asset management industry which is now facing the risk of strong action by regulators and law enforcement over greenwashing. 

For DWS, the probe by German prosecutors leading to the raid means the firm’s next CEO, Stefan Hoops, will continue to face regulatory and investor headwinds as he sets out to clean house. Several shareholders have tabled motions asking the AGM to withhold approval for DWS’s leadership while another one has announced he’s seeking to get the event postponed altogether.

DWS has always denied the greenwashing allegations, which were first made by former chief sustainability officer Desiree Fixler. An “independent assessment” commissioned by the firm found “no evidence” to support them, von Rohr repeated in his remarks published Tuesday. BLOOMBERG