Klaus Nieding

Klaus Nieding

born on 25 June 1964 in
Rheinbach / North Rhine-Westphalia

admitted to the bar in 1993

Fields of law

- Banking law, Stock Exchange Law, Investment Law, Capital market Law

- Banking Supervision Law

- Stock Corporation Law and Company Law

Specializations (selection)

Representation of the interests of private investors aggrieved by insolvencies

As the common representative of bondholders in high-profile insolvencies, such as those of:

- Solar Millennium AG valued at EUR 170 million;

- Gold-Zack AG and Gontard&Metall Bank AG valued at EUR 160 million;

- WGF Westfälische Grundbesitz and Finanzverwaltung AG valued at EUR 50 million;

- Windreich GmbH valued at EUR 52.6 million

Klaus Nieding is successfully representing the interests of aggrieved investors.

In his capacity as a lawyer, Klaus Nieding also represents the interests of bond creditors through his appointment to the committee of creditors of

- Solar Millennium AG

- Windreich GmbH

- Green Planet AG

- Gontard&Metall Bank AG

- Gold-Zack AG

- getgoods.de

- Prokon e.G. (advisory committee)

The insolvency proceedings of Gontard&Metall Bank AG have seen roughly 60 per cent of the claims paid out to the creditors, and for those of Gold-Zack AG (initially assetless proceedings) at around 10 per cent to date. For the debt-to-equity swap of Augusta Technologie AG valued at EUR 100 million, Mr Nieding’s involvement for the bond creditors was equally successful within the framework of a restructuring. In this particular case, the bond capital was converted into share capital to reduce the company’s liabilities and secure its continuity. Also he was involved as lawyer and legal representative of Creditors in the restructuring of ETERNA GmbH the first restructuring case under the new “Act on the Habitations and Restructuring Framework for Companies (StaRUG).

The aggregate value of bonds which Mr Nieding has defended to date amounts to over EUR 1 billion.

Special Audits

For the German Shareholder Protection Association DSW (Deutsche Schutzvereinigung für Wertpapierbesitz e.V.), Mr Klaus Nieding prepared the legal side of, and judicially enforced the requests for special audits Deutsche Bank and Volkswagen.

The special audit at Deutsche Bank is finished and disclosed special problems in the risk managing system of Deutsche Bank. The proceeding regarding Volkswagen is currently still pending. In this cases, the goal is to clarify crucially important facts for the shareholders concerned.

At Volkswagen, the primary goal is to establish whether its Managing Board and Supervisory Board breached their legal duties connected to dieselgate, and at what point in time they learned of these transactions.

Major losses

Time and again, Rechtsanwaltsaktiengesellschaft Nieding+Barth, and in particular Klaus Nieding are mandated to represent both international and private investors affected by major losses.

Nieding+Barth Rechtsanwaltsaktiengesellschaft currently represents a platform that pools the lawsuits of approximately 6,500 private investors and 1,500 institutional investors, whose total loss is valued at roughly EUR 2.5 billion from “software manipulations of diesel vehicles from the Volkswagen Group”. It is to be legally established whether both Volkswagen and Porsche Holding SE informed the capital market of the software manipulations of diesel vehicles too late.

Wirecard / EY / Annual General Meetings

Next to his activities as a lawyer, Klaus Nieding holds an honorary position at DSW (Deutsche Schutzvereinigung für Wertpapierbesitz), which is Germany’s largest association advocating the interests of investors. Klaus Nieding has also been the managing director of the regional association for Hesse / Rhineland Palatinate / Saarland since 1994. Moreover, he is holding the position of DSW Vice President since 2011.

Within the scope of his activities, Klaus Nieding and his team are representing the voting rights of private investors during roughly 100 Annual General Meetings, including the shareholder meetings of Deutsche Bank AG, Deutsche Börse AG and Commerzbank AG.

Expert for the media

Mass media frequently invite Klaus Nieding to share his expertise at talk shows and in interviews. He is considered an expert on all matters of Banking Law and Capital Market Law. According to the German business journal HANDELSBLATT, Klaus Nieding is “one of Germany’s most prominent lawyers specialising in the protection of investors” (HANDELSBLATT, 9 February 2011), and for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, he is “the Republic’s most high-profile investor lawyer” (F.A.S. of 27 April 2014).

Expert

The financial committee of the Deutsche Bundestag routinely consults Klaus Nieding as an authority on matters relating to Capital Market Law. Klaus Nieding is also an expert and popular guest and commentator for the media on current developments in various capital markets.

Continuing Professional Development

Klaus Nieding chairs the Board of Examiners for the “Certified Lawyer for Banking and Capital Market Law” exam in Frankfurt/Main. In July 2016, the Federal Ministry of Economics appointed him as a member to the Advisory Committee to the Auditor Oversight Body (AOB).