Dresdner parent Commerzbank defends bonus cutting stance
THE former Dresdner Kleinwort Investment Bank (DKIB) staff demanding €50m (£41.8m) in unpaid bonuses are seeking “rewards for failure”, the high court was told yesterday.
Tom Linden, QC, representing parent company Commerzbank, said the “promise” by the German lender to pay a minimum bonus pool of €400m for 2008 was a “non-binding commitment” and that it had to cut payouts as its performance deteriorated at the start of the financial crisis.
Linden said the writ, issued by 104 former staff, was “a claim to be rewarded for the failure of DKIB in 2008”.
Dresdner’s investment bank made a loss for that year and Commerzbank, which bought the division, was later bailed out by German taxpayers.
Linden said: “The banking world would come to an end if traders were entering into trades were there is no written agreement.”