Pursuant to Paragraph 48 (1) No. 2 in conjunction with No. 4 WpHG, listed companies have to publish information on their paying agent. The paying agent is the bank through which the issuer processes, in particular, dividend payments. The information must be permanently accessible. According to Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), publication on the issuer’s homepage is obvious and sufficient, but it does not have to be mandatory. On the contrary, individual publication on a case-by-case basis, such as in the context of a dividend payment, is not sufficient.

The publication of the paying agent is currently the subject of increased examination by the BaFin. If this information is missing, it constitutes an administrative offence. We therefore recommend all issuers to check whether the information on their paying agent is publicly and permanently available. If this is not the case, the necessary information should be included as soon as possible on the website in the “Share” section.