Audit of HSH Nordbank pursuant to §44 of the German Banking Act completed
Hamburg/Kiel, February 17, 2011 - The special audit of HSH Nordbank by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority pursuant to §44 of the German Banking Act has been completed.
The results were presented to the Supervisory Board by the external legal coordinator Dr. Klaus Landry today.
The audit had examined the Bank’s ordering and contract award processes over the past months.
Key result of the audit report is that no negligence was determined on the part of corporate bodies nor any serious or sustained infringement of internal instructions.
However the roundabout 300-page audit report found that the Bank’s rules on the procurement process had not been sufficient and had been inconsistent in some points. Furthermore, the documentation requirements for awarding contracts had been partially inadequate.
The audit report also notes that there are no indications of organisational negligence at Management Board level leading to the shortcomings in this area. For months the Bank has been engaged in adjusting and improving the procurement process as part of the optimisation of its Internal Control System (ICS).
‘The report states that there were inconsistencies in the Bank’s contract award process. No breaches of duty by the Management Board were detected at any time. There is no need for action for the Supervisory Board to be taken over and above continuing apace with the measures already initiated by the management board’ said Klaus Landry.
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