According to Wirecard scandal: banks Reform of the Bafin’s request

The leaders of the German financial sector after the Wirecard scandal with the German Federal financial Supervisory authority (Bafin) dissatisfied. In a Thursday survey published by the research Institute of the Goethe University in Frankfurt, the center for Financial Studies (CFS), 85 percent of respondents to a need for reform of financial supervision.

Markus Frühauf

editor in the economy.

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Bafin President Felix Hufeld, the criticism of the opposition parties, who criticize his statements to the Wirecard account Balance was the Finance Committee of the Bundestag as a contradictory in the center.Among the surveyed Bank managers, more than three-quarters follow the ideas of Hufelds service, Lord, the German Finance Minister, Olaf Scholz, wants to expand the powers of the Bafin. For the respondents, it is important that all financial services in the area of competence of the supervision.

The was not for the Wirecard group in the case, because of him, Bafin and the Bundesbank as a technology group, and not as a financial services provider determined to have what has now caused sharp criticism. Bafin was only directly for the subsidiary Wirecard Bank is responsible. The alleged accounting fraud casts shadows on the auditor. So EY has examined for many years, the balance sheet of Wirecard, but not detected, that is, 1.9 billion euros were missing.

More independence of big auditors

In the survey, 58 percent of executives for the construction of test capacity of the Bafin, in order to be independent from the big four audit firms EY, Deloitte, KPMG and PWC. The Federal Ministry of Finance wishes to align the balance control stronger “state sovereign”. It is also examined how the Bafin can be integrated.

In the Ministry of Finance it is critical that the large audit firms with consulting services, in the meantime, more sales than the balance sheet test. This can present a conflict of interest.

Less clear is the attitude of the financial sector is in the question of whether the yet to Bafin and the Bundesbank split Bank supervision should be merged. For 58 percent of the respondents, 36 per cent think of nothing. Around 70 percent see the Artificial intelligence as a tool to increase the effectiveness of supervision.