Berenberg faces BaFin intervention as three senior managers lose authority

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Berenberg faces BaFin intervention

Highlights

Bafin suspended management powers of three Berenberg executives and appointed Hans-Walter Peters and Michael Horf as special commissioners for immediate oversight.
Corporate governance breaches related to unclear market transactions emerged during Berenberg's 2025 audit, prompting regulatory intervention and transparency concerns.
Berenberg expects about 20 million euros net profit for 2025 and around 40 million euros profit for 2026's first half, pending financial statement audit sign-off.

Regulatory action and management changes

As reported by Financial Times, Germany’s financial regulator BaFin has ordered the suspension of the management powers of three members of Berenberg’s executive leadership. The Hamburg-based bank said on Friday that the powers of the three managers were suspended with immediate effect, and the regulator confirmed the decision.

BaFin has appointed two special commissioners to take their place, Hans-Walter Peters, Berenberg’s former long-serving chief executive and later chair of its advisory board, and Michael Horf, a former member of the executive board of Degussa Bank. The intervention is one of the strongest measures available to the regulator.

Berenberg said indications of possible corporate governance breaches emerged during the annual audit for the 2025 financial year. The bank said the issues related in particular to certain market transactions of unclear provenance, and that efforts to investigate them were hindered by a lack of transparency.

Profit outlook and operational implications

Berenberg said the management changes do not affect day-to-day operations, execution of its business strategy or existing employment. Peters said the step is necessary because absolute integrity is a core value of the bank, and added that the suspected breaches have no bearing on client business and that no clients have suffered harm.

Founded in 1590, Berenberg oversees about 40 billion euros in assets under management and remains largely owned by descendants of its founders and other wealthy German families. Managing partners, who are also shareholders, traditionally make daily decisions, while the bank employs about 400 of its 1,500 staff in London despite being incorporated in Germany.

According to Peters, Berenberg expects to report net profit of about 20 million euros for 2025 and profit of roughly 40 million euros for the first half of 2026. The bank historically shares its numbers in January or February, but its 2025 financial statements have not yet received audit sign-off, a step that a person familiar with the matter described as an important milestone.

Our earlier report on the Bank of England’s plans to ease trading capital rules explained how the Prudential Regulation Authority wants to soften parts of the Basel III market-risk framework and delay full implementation until 2028. We noted the changes are aimed at reducing disproportionate compliance burdens, keeping the UK aligned with other major jurisdictions, and protecting the depth and liquidity of wholesale markets.

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