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How generous can companies be with their managers and shareholders if they also receive help from Corona? This question has arisen since the federal government launched multi-million dollar aid programs as a result of the pandemic.
According to Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD), the answer is clear. “Anyone who wants to get a loan from KfW’s aid programs should not distribute profits or dividends,” said Scholz of the “Bild am Sonntag.” “And when it comes to bonus payments, we also have strict rules that no one else could be taught.”
Federal Economy Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU) also wants to link aid to conditions. If large companies received state support, they would have to forego dividend payment, he said in Deutschlandfunk. Management must also make a contribution, the amount of which must be clarified in individual cases.
In fact, the so-called State Bank KfW fast program prohibits the distribution of profits and dividends; wages, including variable remuneration, such as bonuses, cannot exceed 150,000 euros per person. This program, in which the state assumes 100 percent of the risk of loans of up to 800,000 euros, is just one of several. In addition, there is also aid such as short-term labor benefits and the economic stabilization fund (WSF) that has not yet started.
So far, the state has been unable to avoid many dividend payments from aid recipients. And even with bonuses, the rules are not as strict as Scholz claims. This shows a response from the Federal Ministry of Economy to a request from the leader of the left faction Dietmar Bartsch, which is available to SPIEGEL. He asked how many companies listed on the stock exchange or specifically listed in the leading German Dax-30 index have applied for or receive government aid and at the same time are paying dividends or bonds.
Above half a billion, you have to do without
The answer only mentions the already known Adidas case. The sporting goods maker received a € 2.4 billion loan from the state bank KfW’s special program. Previously, the board of directors announced that it would forgo bonuses, a kind of precedent obedience. “In the case of loans of 500 million euros or more, companies are expected to make a voluntary commitment, which will exclude bonus payments or variable remuneration by 2020 for board members and substantially cut it for senior executives, “said the response.
But what about the lower sums? Finally, bonuses are still allowed in the rest of the special KfW program, provided that the employment contract provides for them. Dax companies have applied for less than half a trillion without having to commit to a bonus exemption? What exactly is a “substantial” cut? And how binding is the required commitment?
In response, it is said that the federal government, beyond Adidas, “cannot make any statements regarding the Dax 30 companies, as the very small number of cases currently means that there is a risk that conclusions may be drawn about specific applicants. ” Only one publicly listed company that has applied for a federal-state guarantee is mentioned; This should be the car supplier Leoni. According to the government, “dividend and bond payments in the sense of the issue, as well as share buybacks” are not planned here in 2020.
The left demands a bond ban
The managers of various corporations have recently announced a voluntary exemption of part of their salary. However, binding regulations on this so far have been few. There is no such thing when short-term job benefits are received; the WSF has not yet issued a corresponding ordinance.
On the left, he finds very little of it. “The bond issue has so far not been regulated,” said parliamentary leader Bartsch. “We need a bond ban for companies using state subsidies in the crown crisis. Tax money must save companies and jobs and must not co-finance special payments for managers.”
