July 12, 2006 - Subject to the approval of the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament, Westdeutsche ImmobilienBank (WIB) will operate as Westdeutsche ImmobilienBank AG at the beginning of 2007. A wholly owned subsidiary of WestLB AG headquartered in Mainz, the specialist bank was established in 1995 as a public sector institution and included in the Sparkassengesetz (Savings Bank Act). The change of legal form therefore requires an amendment to the Act.
Hubert Beckmann, Chairman of the WIB Managing Board, said:
“We are cooperating closely and constructively with the Economics Ministry in Rhineland-Palatinate. Our headquarters in Mainz offers a number of advantages for our international business and the proximity to the financial centre of Frankfurt. The state government is receptive to WIB and WestLB AG´s request and will submit a draft bill to the state parliament to amend the Savings Bank Act. We expect the process to be completed this year.”
For WIB the change of legal form is a consequence of the abolition of the exclusive right to issue Pfandbriefe held by mortgage and public sector banks. The Bank will adopt the legal form of its sole shareholder, WestLB AG, and thus subject itself to the strict requirements of the modern capital markets, i.e. the Corporate Governance Code. This will provide greater transparency for international customers in particular.
Hubert Beckmann added: “The transformation into an AG will increase our visibility on the capital markets and offer additional business opportunities. We are currently stepping up our capital market activities and expanding our international business.”
In addition to its headquarters in Mainz and Münster, WIB has offices in Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Mannheim and Munich in Germany. Internationally it is represented in New York, London, Madrid and Paris, and is planning to open a representative office in Warsaw in the fourth quarter of this year.
Westdeutsche ImmobilienBank
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55116 Mainz
Germany
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Telefax: + 49 6131 9280 - 7209