Varengold Bank announces new board appointments amid realignment
Varengold Bank has announced a series of senior appointments as the Hamburg-based bank continues its realignment.
Tobias M. Weitzel has been made a member of the supervisory board, while Matthias Wargers has been named spokesman of the management board and Hendrik Harms has been appointed as an interim member of the management board.
Weitzel is the chief executive and founder of Credion – an innovative financing platform based in Hamburg that specialises in financing small and medium-sized companies. He was recruited to the supervisory board at short notice after Dr Karl-Heinz Lemnitzer resigned his position for personal reasons. He will join current members Dirk Auerbach and Vasil Stefanov.
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Varengold’s ongoing realignment was initiated by the Auerbach in September 2024 in the wake of a prolonged audit of the bank which took place after the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) flagged possible compliance violations relating to Varengold’s dealings with Iran. As part of this realignment, Auerbach pledged to expand the bank’s committees.
Wargers has been working in the finance industry for more than 25 years and has extensive experience and relevant networks with regard to the transformation and realignment of companies. Meanwhile, Harms is an experienced risk manager in the financial industry who has held various management positions at Deutsche Bank.
Harms, Wargers and the current general representative Kai Friedrichs, will implement the consistent restructuring of the risk, control and governance processes of Varengold Bank in close coordination with the relevant supervisory authorities.
This will ensure a future-proof basis for the targeted expansion of the bank’s business activities, a Varengold spokesperson said.
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Going forward, the bank’s focus will be on marketplace lending for fintechs, and financing innovative, medium-sized companies and projects in the area of energy transition with a regional focus on Bulgaria and relevant neighbouring EU countries.
Transactions related to high-risk countries have already been discontinued and will no longer play a role in the future, the bank said.
“I am delighted that we have been able to attract new and experienced players to the realignment in close and constructive coordination with the supervisory authorities, in order to position Varengold Bank in the relevant markets in an orderly and future-proof manner as a specialised customer bank for fintechs, innovative companies and sustainable energy financing,” said Auerbach.
“I look forward to working with everyone involved and to our joint entrepreneurial endeavours with great pleasure and confidence.”
