According to Bloomberg Commerzbank didn’t act dishonestly in going back on a promise to pay bankers from a guaranteed bonus pool, the German lender’s attorney said in a London trial over payments to Dresdner Kleinwort staff.
Commerzbank, which took over Dresdner in 2009 and cut bonuses by 90 percent or more, is defending a lawsuit brought by 104 Dresdner bankers who want individual payouts of as much as 2 million euros ($2.7 million).
Stefan Jentzsch, Dresdner’s former CEO, had promised at a 2008 company meeting to set aside 400 million euros for discretionary pay. Dresdner’s record loss that year justified changing the policy and Jentzsch’s pledge wasn’t legally binding, Commerzbank lawyer Thomas Linden said.
“It may be perfectly honorable to withdraw from a non- binding commitment in circumstances when the business has fallen off a cliff,” Linden told the judge…….
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-21/commerzbank-defends-bonus-cut-after-bank-fell-off-cliff-.html
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