The action came a day ahead of the annual shareholder meeting of DWS, which is mostly owned by Deutsche Bank and has drawn attention from activists and regulators over allegations that it misled investors about "green" investments. DWS has disputed the allegations.
The German-language Greenpeace banner was unfurled shortly after 6 a.m. CEST and stretched across part of the glass facade on the lower section of Deutsche Bank's twin office towers. The banner translated as "Force DWS, protect the climate".Last year, the chief executive of DWSThe new CEO, Stefan Hoops, plans to tell shareholders at Thursday's meeting that DWS has been cooperating with investigations, according to a transcript of prepared remarks on its website.
Mauricio Vargas, a Greenpeace finance expert who was standing outside Deutsche Bank's headquarters, said: "DWS's scandal is Deutsche Bank's scandal." He plans to address shareholders on Thursday. DWS said in a statement that it agreed with Greenpeace that climate change requires decisive action but disagreed on "how to get there". It said it had recently adopted new policies on dealing with coal companies.The German bank has previously said that it has guidelines for its business activities in carbon-emitting sectors and that it has reduced its exposure.Thomson Reuters
Covers German finance with a focus on big banks, insurance companies, regulation and financial crime, previous experience at the Wall Street Journal and New York Times in Europe and Asia.