Change in Managing Board of Erste Abwicklungsanstalt (EAA) - Matthias Wargers will leave after ten years of successful service

Duesseldorf, 11 December 2019. Matthias Wargers (53) will leave the Managing Board of the EAA after almost ten years of service to focus on new professional challenges. As announced today in Düsseldorf by Dr. Patrick Opdenhövel, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the EAA and State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance of the North Rhine-Westphalia, Wargers will resign from the Managing Board on 31 December 2019, as mutually agreed. "With the resignation of Matthias Wargers, the EAA is losing a highly experienced member of the Managing Board. He has played a key role in influencing the structure, strategic orientation and successful development of the EAA almost from the very start," says Opdenhövel. "The Supervisory Board would like to express its gratitude for his invaluable contribution. We wish Matthias Wargers every success in his professional and private life," Opdenhövel added.

Shortly after the EAA was established, Matthias Wargers was appointed member of the Managing Board of the EAA with effect from 15 February 2010. He has also been the Spokesman of the Managing Board since May 2013. During his term of office, he oversaw the EAA's acquisition of an international portfolio of loans, securities, investments and derivative financial products with a total volume of more than EUR 200 billion. The EAA helped remove the former regional bank WestLB from the market without causing any upheaval. Since then, it has already wound up close to 90% of the former WestLB portfolio.

"Matthias Wargers made a decisive contribution to ensuring that the assets acquired by the EAA were wound up quicker than expected, while also achieving in way that was balanced and preserved value. He was particularly instrumental in driving the restructuring and winding-up of complex exposures and investments. He moreover ensured that corporate structures and processes were continuously optimised," says Opdenhövel.

Opdenhövel believes that the EAA is well equipped to carry out the tasks that still lie ahead. "The measure to wind up individual assets ahead of schedule, which was recently adopted by the Supervisory Board and approved by the legal supervisor, has bolstered the EAA's ongoing efforts to reduce risk and complexity. This will now also pave the way to streamline the management structure."

The Managing Board of the EAA must consist of at least two members. It currently comprises three members, namely Matthias Wargers, Christian Doppstadt and Horst Küpker. Following Matthias Wargers' departure, Christian Doppstadt and Horst Küpker will manage the EAA's business with a scaled-down board of two members going forward.

 

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The EAA is a financially and organisationally independent public law institution. It was established in 2009 with a view to helping stabilise the financial markets. In accordance with its charter, its mission is to wind up risk positions taken over from the former WestLB in such a way as to minimise losses.

The EAA has taken over positions totalling approximately EUR 200 billion, which it accomplished in two stages: The "first fill" in 2009/2010 comprised loans and securities with a notional volume of EUR 77.5 billion. The second transfer, or "replenishment", took place in 2012 and comprised loans, securities (banking portfolio) and derivatives (trading portfolio) in the amount of EUR 124.4 billion.

Being a public-law institution, the EAA has a structure that protects it against insolvency and funds itself independently on the capital market. Thanks to the loss compensation duties of the State of NRW, the North Rhine-Westphalian savings bank and regional associations and the Financial Market Stabilisation Fund laid down in its charter, the EAA can issue securities on favourable terms. The EAA nevertheless plans to complete the wind-up activities in 2027 at least "with a black zero" - i.e. without taking advantage of the loss compensation duties. Stakeholders in the EAA are the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (approx. 48.2%), the two North Rhine-Westphalian savings banks and giro associations (both approx. 25%) and the two Regional Associations of North-Rhine Westphalia (each approx. 0.9%).