Ad hoc announcement pursuant to § 15 WpHG: Mark West appointed member of the Board of Management of DF Deutsche Forfait AG

• Marina Attawar to resign at the end of the year for personal reasons
• Contract of Frank Hock renewed

DF Deutsche Forfait AG (Prime Standard, ISIN: DE000A14KN88) welcomes a new Board of Management member. Mark West will join the Board of the trade finance company with effect from 1 July 2015, according to Supervisory Board resolution. The Board of Management will then temporarily be composed of three members. Marina Attawar will resign for personal reasons at the end of 2015 but will remain available to the company as a consultant and major shareholder. From 1 January 2016, the company will be led by Board members Mark West (Market, Sales) and Frank Hock (Finance), whose contract has been renewed.

Mark West has long-standing and comprehensive experience in the trade finance and forfaiting business. He served as Main Board Director of London Forfaiting Company, the first listed and largest forfaiting company to date, which he helped build up successfully. London Forfaiting was taken over by FIMBank Group in 2003. Mark West then held various management positions in the trade finance divisions of financial service providers and banks such as Noble Trade Finance Services and Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, before setting up his own business as a consultant. Mark West has a densely knit network in the trade finance sector and knows DF Deutsche Forfait AG and its management team from numerous joint transactions. Since October 2014, Mark West has been the largest individual shareholder of DF Deutsche Forfait AG, holding 23.26% of the company’s share capital.

Marina Attawar is a founding member and shareholder of DF Deutsche Forfait AG and has served on the company’s Board of Management from the very beginning. She has played a key role in transforming the company into a leading specialist in the foreign trade finance market. In the remaining months of the year, Marina Attawar will further develop the Market and Sales units together with Mark West; thereafter, she will continue to work for the company under a consultancy agreement.