Declaration of Conformity pursuant to § 161 Stock Corporation Act (AktG) regarding compliance with the German Corporate Governance Code at Hannover Rückversicherung AG
The German Corporate Governance Code sets out major statutory requirements governing the management and supervision of German listed companies. It contains both nationally and internationally recognised standards of good and responsible enterprise management. The purpose of the Code is to foster the trust of investors, clients, employees and the general public in German enterprise management. Under § 161 Stock Corporation Act (AktG) it is incumbent on the Management Board and Supervisory Board of German listed companies to provide an annual declaration of conformity with the recommendations of the "German Corporate Governance Code Government Commission" published by the Federal Ministry of Justice or to explain which recommendations of the Code were/are not applied.
The Executive Board and Supervisory Board declare pursuant to § 161 Stock Corporation Act (AktG) that in its implementation of the German Corporate Governance Code Hannover Rückversicherung AG was in compliance with all recommendations contained in the version dated 14 June 2007, while it diverged in one respect in its implementation of the version of the Code dated 6 June 2008:
Code Item 4.2.3 Para. 4; Caps on severance payments in Management Board contracts
Premature termination of a service contract without serious cause may only take the form of cancellation by mutual consent. Even if the Supervisory Board insists upon setting a severance cap when concluding or renewing an Executive Board contract, this does not preclude the possibility of negotiations also extending to the severance cap in the event of a member leaving the Executive Board. Whilst it is true that the legal literature discusses structuring options that would permit the legally secure implementation of the recommendation contained in Item 4.2.3 Para. 4, it is, however, open to question whether qualified candidates for a position on the company's Executive Board would accept appropriate clauses. In addition, the scope for negotiation over a member leaving the Executive Board would be restricted, which could be particularly disadvantageous in cases where there is ambiguity surrounding the existence of serious cause for termination. In the opinion of Hannover Rückversicherung AG, it is therefore in the interest of the company to diverge from the recommendation contained in Item 4.2.3 Para. 4.
Supplementary note on Code Item 4.2.4; disclosure of remuneration received by members of the Executive Board
With respect to the non-mandatory provision of the Code requiring individualised specification of the remuneration received by members of the Executive Board, we are following the resolution of the Annual General Meeting of 12 May 2006, according to which the disclosures required in § 285 Clause 1 No. 9 Letter a Sentences 5 to 9 and § 314 Para. 1 No. 6 Letter a Sentences 5 to 9 German Commercial Code as amended by the Act on Disclosure of Executive Board Compensation (Vorstandsvergütungs-Offenlegungsgesetz) shall be omitted.
We are in compliance with all other recommendations of the Code.
Hannover, 5 November 2008
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