Commerzbank to Return to In-Person Shareholder Meeting After Five Years
Commerzbank’s Supervisory Board Chairman, Jens Weidmann, told the “Handelsblatt” that the bank will hold its annual general meeting in person in Wiesbaden this year, a move that has nothing to do with the recent entry of Italian bank Unicredit as a major shareholder. The decision is instead related to the new compensation system implemented by the bank, which the board wants to discuss in person with its shareholders.
Commerzbank has held all its annual general meetings digitally since 2020, a move that many shareholders have criticized. The bank plans to alternate between in-person and virtual meetings in the future, depending on the agenda and the current situation, Weidmann said. “Both formats have advantages and disadvantages. We are taking a pragmatic approach and will therefore seek a resolution to allow for virtual annual general meetings in 2026 and 2027 as a precaution.”
The 2025 annual general meeting is particularly noteworthy, as Unicredit could potentially hold a majority of the votes and use that influence to remove members of the supervisory board or even Weidmann as the meeting’s chairman, a scenario that the former Bundesbank president does not fear. “I assume that all parties involved in such meetings will generally act rationally” Weidmann said, “and I do not know why Unicredit would have an interest in using the meeting in such a way.