Germany’s financial regulator BaFin has opened a review of DekaBank’s 2024 financial statements concerning possible breaches of accounting rules.
The focus is on €478 million in tax‑refund claims that DekaBank recorded as assets on its 2024 balance sheet. These claims relate to share‑trading activities around dividend record dates between 2013 and 2018, which tax authorities have rejected.
BaFin will not examine the tax dispute itself but will assess whether DekaBank made overly optimistic assumptions about the likelihood of receiving the refunds, i.e., the appropriateness of the asset recognition under IFRS.
DekaBank, an asset manager owned by Germany’s public‑sector savings banks, has been instructed to commence an audit‑driven review once sufficient evidence of irregularities is identified.
The bank maintains that its accounting practices will be found compliant with IFRS after the audit is completed.
