Former Varengold Directors Got €3.9 mln Severance Payment

According to documentation officially published in public registers the former directors of German bank Varengold have received a hefty compensation for relinquishing control of the direction which the bank is taking under its new management.

A severance agreement totaling €3.9 mln ($4.3 mln) was signed with Yasin Qureshi, Steffen Fix and Mohammad Dastmaltchi after changes in the shareholder structure. Last Wednesday the new shareholders of Varengold Bank AG which are steering the bank into commercial banking have granted a clear majority relief for the previous controlling shareholders and agreed to the election of PriceaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as auditors of the company.

The new board has been authorized with Sanjay Shah, Michael Stephen Murphy and Edo Barac heading getting a majority of 99.99% majority for a period of almost 4 years. The means Extended by a Resolution on the increase in share capital against cash and issuance of an indirect subscription right and adopted by the General Meeting.

After Varengold raised about €5 million ($5.6 million) via issuing CoCo bonds and strengthening its capital base the half-year report is shedding some light on the significant earnings expansion in the area of ​​the Capital Markets brokerage and the expansion of the product and customer portfolio in the areas of Capital Markets and Commercial Banking.

Varengold preliminary figures H1 2015

The preliminary unaudited figures put the total assets of Varengold Bank at a substantial premium to the same period last year at €626.3 million against €157.4 million until June 30th 2014. The growth came primarily from customer deposits and the associated increases in the trading portfolio and Varengold’s balances held at the Bundesbank.

The company reports a cash inflow from financing activities in the amount of 3.53 million, which is attributable to the capital increase executed in April 2015 when 176 963 new shares were issued at a price of €20.00 each and the new institutional investor has officially taken over the lead.

The interest income of Varengold increased from €807,000 in the first half of 2014 to €1,128,000 in the first half 2015 consisting primarily of the business activities in the Commercial Banking division.

for the first half of 2015 Varengold Bank AG recorded a net loss of €1.8 million, which is double the amount lost in H1 last year

Interest expenses rose due to the funds raised on customer deposits to €2.3 million leading to a negative net interest income €1.16 mln. Commission income increased by €673,000 to €1.5 million driven by the Capital Markets division. Trading portfolio income increased by €4.8 million to €23.1 million.

Net income from the trading portfolio increased almost €3 million to €7.5 million. About two thirds of it were attributable to the Capital Markets brokerage with the rest coming from the Capital Markets division.

On the bottom line, for the first half of 2015 Varengold Bank AG recorded a net loss of €1.8 million, which is double the amount lost last year, primary due to soaring costs associated with the bank’s transformation into a full bank with a different set of services.