VARENGOLD BANK AG.
VG80.XETRA | Other monetary intermediation
VARENGOLD BANK AG, based in Germany, operates as a financial institution offering a range of services including transaction banking, commercial banking, and asset management. The bank focuses on serving sophisticated clients, including fintech companies and institutional investors. Its transaction b...Show More
Better Health for All
0
Varengold Bank AG is a financial institution whose core products and services (transaction banking, commercial banking, and asset management) do not inherently have a direct positive or negative impact on health outcomes. The provided sustainability reports explicitly state that they do not contain data directly relevant to specific health outcomes.
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Therefore, all KPIs related to health impact, harmful revenue, safety, accessibility, risk transparency, innovation, externalities, equity programs, workforce support, preventative measures, data responsibility, crisis response, mental health, patents, nutrition, education, addiction, and clinical trials are scored as 'Not applicable' or 'Neutral' as per the rubric's definitions for a company whose operations do not directly intersect with health-related products or services.
Fair Money & Economic Opportunity
-50
Varengold Bank AG was subject to a special audit of business operations by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) in 2024, and restructuring measures were introduced in its Commercial Banking division due to this audit and resulting restrictions on payment transactions.
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The bank also discontinued payment transactions for humanitarian imports.
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The annual financial statements for 2024 received an unqualified audit opinion.
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The bank has been granting loans to customers as part of the KfW Loan Program since May 2020 and its Marketplace Banking customers are involved in SME finance, but no specific share of the loan book for these initiatives is provided.
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The bank developed an optimized management structure managed account platform that enabled real-time brokerage and online reporting.
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Varengold Bank has business locations in London and Sofia, and its trading concentration is on the Eastern European region and the Middle East.
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In November 2018, Varengold Bank AG opened a branch in Sofia with the mission to turn it into a major hub for expansion in Southeast Europe.
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The bank's current most important geographic markets are Germany, other European countries with a future focus on Eastern Europe, and the Middle-East-North-Africa (MENA) region.
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Fair Pay & Worker Respect
-10
The company has an overall Glassdoor rating of 3.4 out of 5.
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This translates to 68/100 for employee engagement. This falls within the tier for approximately 70/100 engagement. The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) imposed an administrative fine of EUR 3.3 million for a violation of the German Money Laundering Act, which became final and binding on September 2, 2025.
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BaFin also ordered the bank to remedy identified shortcomings.
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A special audit in accordance with Section 44 KWG resulted in restrictions on payment transactions in the Commercial Banking division.
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Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing
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Varengold Bank AG is a financial institution.
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Its core business does not involve the procurement or trading of physical commodities that would typically require fair-trade certifications or extensive supply chain audits for ethical sourcing. The bank's sustainability efforts focus on resource efficiency, environmental protection, social engagement, and offsetting its own emissions since 2019.
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While the bank purchases food in organic quality and from regional producers wherever possible,
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this is not quantified as a percentage of overall spend or covered by specific fair-trade certifications. There is no evidence of a supplier base requiring welfare or sourcing audits, nor any reported incidents of forced or child labor.
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The company does not have a supply chain that requires mapping for provenance data or specific ethical clauses in supplier contracts related to physical goods.
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There is no evidence of procurement of high-risk materials or a procurement budget directed to indigenous, minority, or local community suppliers in the context of physical goods.
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Honest & Fair Business
-40
BaFin imposed a penalty payment of EUR 500,000 on February 26, 2025, which is less than $5 million.
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The company has a whistleblower tool and includes contact information for reporting channels, but there is no evidence of independent investigation processes.
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Varengold Bank AG corrected the preliminary result for the financial year 2022, representing one minor restatement in the past five years.
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The company received an unqualified audit opinion for its 2023 annual financial statements from PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH (PwC) and for its 2022 annual financial statements.
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A special audit of business operations by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) was ongoing as of July 2023, with two out of three audit areas completed, and was completed by October 2025.
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BaFin also appointed KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft as a special representative for the independent review and approval of individual transactions in the payment transaction business.
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The company has an anti-corruption policy with a zero-tolerance approach and mentions measures to prevent money laundering, terrorism financing, and criminal acts.
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However, BaFin prohibited transactions with payment agents and other third parties with a connection to Iran due to high money laundering risks and serious shortcomings in the prevention of money laundering.
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The company's ethical claims are partially verified by third parties, including PwC auditing annual financial statements and KPMG appointed by BaFin for specific transaction reviews. The Supervisory Board also commissioned a legal firm to conduct additional forensic investigations.
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Kind to Animals
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VARENGOLD BANK AG is a financial institution providing banking and asset management services. Its core business operations do not involve animal-derived products, animal testing, animal agriculture, or direct interaction with animal welfare policies. Therefore, none of the KPIs related to 'Kind to Animals' are applicable to the company's activities, and no relevant evidence was found in the provided articles.
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No War, No Weapons
-80
Varengold Bank AG was barred by BaFin from carrying out transactions with entities and persons connected to Iran in June 2023.
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Despite this prohibition, the bank was fined €500K for breaching prior regulatory orders by conducting transactions with payment agents or third parties linked to Iran.
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Varengold is suspected of facilitating billions in illicit transactions for Iranian authorities, potentially funding terrorist affiliates.
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The bank systematically failed to submit suspicious transaction reports (STRs) from June 2023 to March 2025.
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BaFin discovered "high money laundering risks and grave deficits" with Varengold’s compliance safeguards.
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The bank's leadership showed an apparent lack of urgency and failed to act on red flags, amplifying regulator concerns about governance and oversight.
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Varengold claimed its dealings with Iran were limited to humanitarian aid, including medical equipment and food, but intelligence sources suggest some Iranian front companies using Varengold are linked to Iran's Quds Force.
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Planet-Friendly Business
-30
Varengold Bank purchases exclusively green electricity, indicating that 100% of its purchased power is from renewable sources.
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In 2022, the bank offset 163 tonnes of CO2e through the "Efficient cookstoves in Zambia" project, certified by ClimatePartner.
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The company uses 100% recycled paper for printing and recycled products in other areas such as office materials, cleaning products, bin liners, and toilet paper.
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No regulatory actions, violations, fines, or compliance issues were mentioned in the provided articles.
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Respect for Cultures & Communities
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The provided articles do not contain specific, quantitative data points for any of the KPIs related to 'Respect for Cultures & Communities' for Varengold Bank AG (VG80.XETRA). While general mentions of 'social responsibility' and 'social commitment' are present, these lack the detailed metrics required to assess performance against the rubric's criteria, such as formal partnerships with community groups, revenue reinvested locally, cultural appropriation incidents, or cultural impact assessment protocols.
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Therefore, no KPIs can be scored based on the evidence provided.
Safe & Smart Tech
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No specific, concrete evidence was found in the provided articles to assess Varengold Bank AG against any of the 'Safe & Smart Tech' KPIs. The articles discuss financial information, and a money laundering investigation involving the company, but do not provide data points relevant to Varengold Bank AG's data protection, cybersecurity, or AI ethics practices.
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Information regarding a data breach at 'Evolve Bank & Trust' is not applicable to Varengold Bank AG.
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Zero Waste & Sustainable Products
10
The company prints its documents on 100% recycled paper.
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It implements several waste reduction initiatives, including the use of recycled office materials, cleaning products, bin liners, toilet paper, reusable lunch boxes, and collection boxes for small electrical appliances and batteries.
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The company's sustainability reports, covering the period from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024, do not mention any waste disposal violations, fines, or compliance issues.
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