German bank Deutsche Bank will once again invite its shareholders to a fully digital annual general meeting, aiming to provide “as many shareholders as possible, regardless of their location, the opportunity to participate” a spokesperson told the Handelsblatt (Wednesday edition).
Fully digital annual general meetings are a topic of controversy among investors. Deutsche Bank too has faced criticism for abandoning in-person shareholder meetings since the COVID-19 pandemic, as it will do this year as well.
In this year, the bank is addressing a different criticism: unlike in the previous two years, shareholders will be allowed to ask any question they want during the annual general meeting, without prior submission of their questions. “There is no prior submission of questions, as several stakeholders have signaled that they prefer live questions during the event” the spokesperson confirmed.