Germany’s stock exchange proposes tougher rules after Wirecard scandal
Deutsche Börse, Germany’s stock exchange operator, is considering stringent new admission rules as part of reforms in the wake of the Wirecard accounting-fraud scandal.
It is also proposing increasing the size of the blue-chip
DAX index (^GDAXI) from 30 to 40 companies.
“It's no secret that I personally would welcome the
expansion of the Dax 30 to a Dax 40,” said Deutsche Börse chief executive Theodor
Weimer on Monday. "I am looking forward to the result and am sure that the
further development of the criteria will help the German capital market to
achieve further quality.”
Investors have until 4 November to submit their comments on
the stricter new admission criteria, which include banning companies from the
DAX if they don’t submit their accounts on time.
Members of all the German indices, which include the DAX, MDAX,
TecDAX and SDAX, would also need to show proof of an audit committee on their
supervisory board in future.
The new proposals say that companies should be demonstrably
profitable before they can move up into the leading DAX index.
In addition, firms making more than 10% of their revenue
from controversial weapons sales would be excluded from the indices, which
include the DAX, MDAX, TecDAX and SDAX.
As part of the proposals, the small-cap MDax would shrink by
10, to a total of 60 companies.
The German financial world and the political establishment
has been rocked by the enormous scandal at payments company Wirecard, after it
emerged in June this year that billions were missing from its balancesheet.
Wirecard declared bankruptcy in June, and was ejected from
the DAX in August. The former German fintech darling had ousted Commerzbank
from the blue-chip index when it joined in 2018.
Insolvency administrators are currently in the process of
selling off the company’s assets to try and recoup some of the billions owed to
its creditors.
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