GOV-1 – The role of the administrative, manage-ment and supervisory bodies

Rentenbank’s Board of Managing Directors consists of three members. Nikola Steinbock is the Chaimwoman of the Management Board; Dr Marc Kaninke (Chief Financial and IT Officer) and Dietmar Ilg (Chief Risk Officer) complete the Executive Board. The Management Board manages the bank under its own responsibility in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations, particularly including Rentenbank’s Governing Law, as well as Rentenbank’s Articles of Incorporation and the Management Board’s rules of procedure. It is committed to the interests of Rentenbank and to its statutory promotional mandate and bears overall responsibility for Rentenbank’s strategic direction and management, including the consideration of key sustainability matters.

The Management Board ensures that sustainability aspects are systematically integrated into the business strategy, risk management and relevant operational processes. Within their respective areas of responsibility, each member of the Management Board is responsible for ensuring that sustainability-related aspects are duly taken into account. In particular, the member responsible for risk management ensures that material ESG (environmental, social and governance) risks are integrated into the existing risk management processes. Relevant sustainability matters are addressed at meetings of the Management Board as required.

In carrying out its management and oversight responsibilities, the Management Board is supported by independent governance, risk and control functions. The compliance function works to ensure compliance with material legal, regulatory and internal requirements, advises the Management Board in this regard and reports regularly, and on an ad hoc basis where necessary, on material compliance risks and incidents. The Data Protection Officer serves as the point of contact for business partners and employees in relation to data protection matters. He advises the Management Board and all employees on compliance with data protection requirements, monitors the measures taken and reports directly to the Management Board. The Money Laundering Officer is responsible for preventing money laundering, terrorist financing and other criminal offences, as well as for ensuring compliance with financial sanctions and embargoes. Within the scope of her activities, she is authorised to issue instructions to all employees of Rentenbank without restriction and regularly informs the Management Board about the risk situation and relevant matters. Other special functions required by law or regulatory provisions, particularly in the areas of risk management and information security, are embedded in the internal control system and contribute to the identification, assessment and management of Rentenbank’s material risks. The findings of these functions are regularly reported to the Management Board and the Supervisory Board and form a key basis for assessing the bank's overall risk situation.

In addition to the line functions, there are internal committees and special functions that support the Management Board in the discharge of their responsibilities. In addition to the Risk and Finance Committee and the Market Committee, this includes the Sustainability Board, which addresses the strategic and operational implications of material sustainability matters and serves as a central body for information and coordination in relation to sustainability matters. The findings and recommendations developed there are incorporated into the Management Board’s decision-making process. The same applies to the sustainability programme, which is prepared annually by the Sustainability Board and submitted to the Management Board for approval. Throughout the year, the Sustainability Board is informed of progress made in implementing the measures set out in the sustainability programme, as well as of any delays. 

Numbers	Management Board	Supervisory Board
Number of executive members	3	0
Number of non-executive members	0	18
Number of non-executive members	1	8
Number of non-executive members	2	10
Number of diverse members	0	0
Average ratio of female to male members (%)1	50	80

The Supervisory Board is Rentenbank’s highest supervisory body. Chaired by Joachim Rukwied, it monitors and advises the Management Board. Its responsibilities include appointing and discharging the members of the Management Board, defining strategic guidelines and overseeing the risk management and control functions. The Supervisory Board may issue directives and is supported in its work by the respective committees. To this end, the Supervisory Board has established an Audit Committee, a Risk Committee, a Nomination Committee, a Remuneration Committee and a Specialised Committee.

In accordance with the German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz; KWG), it regularly assesses the structure, performance and competence profile of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board and derives improvement measures from this. The composition of the Supervisory Board, its duties and responsibilities are set out in Rentenbank’s Governing Law and Rentenbank’s statutes. Accordingly, the Supervisory Board consists of

• eight representatives of agricultural and food industry organisations,
• three Ministers of Agriculture of the German federal states, appointed by the Federal Council for a term to be determined by it,
• one representative of the trade unions.
• the Federal Minister of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity,
• one representative each from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity and the Federal Ministry of Finance,
• and three representatives of credit institutions or other credit experts, elected by the other members of the Supervisory Board at the proposal of the Federal Government.

Its members are as follows:

Chairman:

Joachim Rukwied
President of the German Farmers' Association (Deutscher Bauernverband e. V.)

Deputy Chairman:

Alois Rainer
Federal Minister of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity

Representatives of the German Farmers' Association (Deutscher Bauernverband e. V.):

Dr Holger Hennies
President of the Farmers' Association of Lower Saxony
(Landvolk Niedersachsen - Landesbauernverband e. V.)

Torsten Krawczyk
President of the Farmers' Association of Saxony
(Sächsischer Landesbauernverband e. V.)

Stefanie Sabet
Secretary General of the German Farmers' Association
(Deutscher Bauernverband e. V.)

Karsten Schmal
President of the Farmers' Association of Hesse
(Hessischer Bauernverband e. V.)

Susanne Schulze Bockeloh
Vice President of the German Farmers' Association
(Deutscher Bauernverband e. V.)

Representative of the German Raiffeisen Federation (Deutscher Raiffeisenverband e. V.)

Franz-Josef Holzenkamp
President of the German Raiffeisen Federation
(Deutscher Raiffeisenverband e. V.)

Representatives of the food industry:

Martin Courbier
Managing Director of the Federal Association of Agricultural Trade and the Association of Grain Traders of the Hamburg Stock Exchange
(Der Agrarhandel – Bundesverband Agrarhandel und Verein der Getreidehändler der Hamburger Börse e. V.)

Ministers of Agriculture of the German federal states:

Baden-Württemberg:
Peter Hauk
Minister for Food, Rural Affairs and Consumer Protection of the State of Baden-Württemberg

Brandenburg: 
Hanka Mittelstädt
Minister for Agriculture, Food, Environment and Consumer Protection of the State of Brandenburg

Hamburg:
Katharina Fegebank
Second Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and President of the Ministry for the Environment, Climate, Energy and Agriculture of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg

Representative of the trade unions

Harald Schaum
Member of the Executive Committee of the Industrial Union for Construction, Agriculture, Environment
(IG Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt)

Representative of the of the German Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity:

Silvia Breher
Parliamentary State Secretary

Representative of the German Federal Ministry of Finance:

Doris Dietze
Head of Directorate VII B

Representatives of banks or other lending experts:

Dr Frank Czichowski
Member of the Supervisory Board of Commerzbank AG

Stefanie Münz
Member of the Management Board of Landesbank Baden-Württemberg

Dr Caroline Toffel
Member of the Management Board of Berliner Volksbank eG

The Supervisory Board therefore consists of 18 independent, non-executive members. These four ex officio members (three Ministers of Agriculture of the Federal States and the Federal Minister of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity) and 14 elected members. This pluralistic structure ensures that professional expertise, public interests and Rentenbank’s promotional mandate are appropriately reflected in the supervision and advice of the Management Board. In accordance with Rentenbank’s Governing Law, Rentenbank’s own employees are not represented on the Supervisory Board.

The members of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board are bound to safeguard Rentenbank’s interests in the performance of their duties. Members of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board are required to disclose to the Supervisory Board and its Chairman any potential conflicts of interest in the performance of their duties. No conflicts of interest involving members of the Management Board or the Supervisory Board arose in the past financial year.

The Management Board reports to the Supervisory Directors regularly - at least quarterly - on business performance, planning, the financial position, the risk situation and compliance with regulatory requirements. In addition, there is an ongoing dialogue between the Management Board and the Chairperson of the Supervisory Board.

The professional suitability, experience and diversity of the members of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board are regularly reviewed. A distinction is made between individual and collective suitability. The assessment includes, among other things, knowledge of the sectors relevant to the business model, risk management, corporate governance and sustainability aspects. Sustainability-related expertise is ensured through existing specialist knowledge within the bodies and through access to internal and external qualification and training programmes.

Both Management Board and Supervisory Board members have the opportunity to participate in further education and training programmes. Regular training sessions are organised for the members of the Supervisory Board by internal or external specialists. The most recent comprehensive training programme specifically dedicated to sustainability issues in this format took place in 2024.

Rentenbank is subject to the legal supervision of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity in agreement with the Federal Ministry of Finance. Such supervision ensures that Rentenbank’s business activities are in line with the public interest and its statutory mandate.

The so-called General Meeting represents the owners and tenants of the land encumbered with Rentenbank’s land charge and advises the bank on issues relating to the promotion of agriculture and rural areas as well as on general agricultural and business policy issues. It receives annual reports from the Management Board and the Supervisory Board.

The Management Board and the Supervisory Board regularly review whether skills and expertise required to perform their duties in connection with sustainability aspects are available to an appropriate extent or need to be further developed. Where a need for action is identified, targeted qualification and training measures are organised.