{"id":31476,"date":"2022-06-01T02:53:35","date_gmt":"2022-06-01T02:53:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/german-officials-raid-deutsche-banks-dws-over-greenwashing-claims\/"},"modified":"2022-06-01T02:53:35","modified_gmt":"2022-06-01T02:53:35","slug":"german-officials-raid-deutsche-banks-dws-over-greenwashing-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/german-officials-raid-deutsche-banks-dws-over-greenwashing-claims\/","title":{"rendered":"German officials raid Deutsche Bank&#8217;s DWS over &#8216;greenwashing&#8217; claims"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-0\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">BERLIN, May 31 (Reuters) &#8211; German prosecutors raided asset manager DWS (DWSG.DE) and the headquarters of its majority owner Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) on Tuesday over allegations of misleading investors about &#8220;green&#8221; investments, the prosecutors said.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-1\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">DWS and Deutsche Bank said the asset manager had cooperated with regulators and authorities in the past and would continue to do so.  DWS repeated its denial that it had misled investors.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-2\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">The prosecutors said they were following up on news reports and a whistleblower&#8217;s allegations that DWS sold investments as &#8220;greener&#8221; or &#8220;more sustainable&#8221; than they were, a practice known as &#8220;greenwashing&#8221;.<\/p>\n<div class=\"registration-prompt__container__2jf5K registration-prompt__inline__2WDU- article-body__element__2p5pI article-body__inline-registration-prompt__1-N9W\">\n<div class=\"registration-prompt__text-content__o0YET\">\n<h5 data-testid=\"Heading\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__white__3r45t text__medium__1kbOh text__heading_5__2krbj heading__base__2T28j heading__heading_5__2A2g- registration-prompt__heading__3fq-h\">Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com<\/h5>\n<p><button data-testid=\"Button\" class=\"button__button__2Ecqi button__secondary__18moI button__round__1nYLA text-button__container__3q3zX registration-prompt__button-text__3kTtQ\" type=\"button\"><\/p>\n<p><span data-testid=\"Text\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__inherit-color__3208F text__bold__2-8Kc text__default__UPMUu text-button__medium__113uZ\">Register<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-3\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">The German prosecutors said &#8220;sufficient factual evidence has emerged&#8221; that environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors were taken into account in a minority of investments &#8220;but were not taken into account at all in a large number of investments&#8221;, contrary to statements in DWS fund sales prospectuses.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-4\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">The US Securities and Exchange Commission and German financial watchdog BaFin last year launched separate investigations into allegations made by DWS &#8216;former head of sustainability that the company was overstating how it used sustainable investing criteria to manage investments.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-5\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">The German prosecutors&#8217; statement was the first time that they have said publicly they were involved in the investigation.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-6\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">DWS said it would work &#8220;with any authorized bodies to clarify any and all queries they may have&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-7\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">&#8220;We understand a variety of actions are required to ensure a thorough and complete investigative process,&#8221; DWS said.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-8\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">Regulators and policymakers have pledged to clamp down on companies making exaggerated claims about the sustainability credentials of their products as they try to cash in on booming demand for ESG investing.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-9\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">Enforcement action has been minimal so far, although watchdogs are beginning to tighten the screws.  Last week, the SEC said BNY Mellon Investment Adviser had paid $ 1.5 million to resolve charges it misstated ESG investment policies for some mutual funds it managed.  read more <\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-10\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">The SEC has proposed a pair of rule changes aimed at stamping out unfounded ESG fund claims, while the European Union&#8217;s markets watchdog is working on a legal definition of &#8220;greenwashing&#8221; to underpin enforcement action.  read more <\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-11\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">Fund managers have amassed billions of dollars of assets that are meant to have an environmental or social profile, prompting more scrutiny over how firms define and apply ESG standards.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-12\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">Monitoring of ESG claims extends across the financial industry.  The Financial Times reported last month that HSBC was facing scrutiny from the UK advertising watchdog over ads promoting green initiatives.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-13\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">There were about 50 people involved in Tuesday&#8217;s raid on DWS, including officials from BaFin and federal police, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-14\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">The bar for successfully prosecuting corporate wrongdoing is high in Germany, although prosecutors regularly open inquiries.<\/p>\n<div class=\"registration-prompt__container__2jf5K registration-prompt__inline__2WDU- article-body__element__2p5pI\">\n<div class=\"registration-prompt__text-content__o0YET\">\n<h5 data-testid=\"Heading\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__white__3r45t text__medium__1kbOh text__heading_5__2krbj heading__base__2T28j heading__heading_5__2A2g- registration-prompt__heading__3fq-h\">Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com<\/h5>\n<p><button data-testid=\"Button\" class=\"button__button__2Ecqi button__secondary__18moI button__round__1nYLA text-button__container__3q3zX registration-prompt__button-text__3kTtQ\" type=\"button\"><\/p>\n<p><span data-testid=\"Text\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__inherit-color__3208F text__bold__2-8Kc text__default__UPMUu text-button__medium__113uZ\">Register<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span data-testid=\"Text\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__default__UPMUu sign-off__text__PU3Aj\">Reporting by Riham Riham Alkousaa and Hans Seidenstuecker;  Writing by Miranda Murray and Tom Sims;  Additional reporting by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes in London;  Editing by Kirsten Donovan, Edmund Blair and Jane Merriman<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>    .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BERLIN, May 31 (Reuters) &#8211; German prosecutors raided asset manager DWS (DWSG.DE) and the headquarters of its majority owner Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) on Tuesday over allegations of misleading investors about &#8220;green&#8221; investments, the prosecutors said. DWS and Deutsche Bank said the asset manager had cooperated with regulators and authorities in the past and would continue &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/german-officials-raid-deutsche-banks-dws-over-greenwashing-claims\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">German officials raid Deutsche Bank&#8217;s DWS over &#8216;greenwashing&#8217; claims<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[8],"tags":[70,66,429,77,78,79,80,81,1008,1596,25,69,1597,1011,54,67,3550,3551,15494,58,1009,74,2303,84,85,1598,434,2628,60,435,438,4766,439,3259,258,1599,1602,1604,1600,735,7243,87,1819,1603,15493,2298,284,285,75,2627,53],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.reuters.com\/resizer\/aDaQBYMVAxmBNXF3S5vaHv1hulo=\/1200x628\/smart\/filters:quality(80)\/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com\/reuters\/N3RDAJEYKRPBPBWXBT5VXRTO3M.jpg?ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/resizer\/aDaQBYMVAxmBNXF3S5vaHv1hulo=\/1200x628\/smart\/filters:quality(80)\/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com\/reuters\/N3RDAJEYKRPBPBWXBT5VXRTO3M.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31476"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31476\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}