{"id":53125,"date":"2026-04-24T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/frankfurt-main-finance.com\/?p=53125"},"modified":"2026-04-24T14:02:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T12:02:16","slug":"3-questions-for-joachim-lauterbach-ceo-and-chairman-of-the-executive-board-of-the-wm-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/frankfurt-main-finance.com\/en\/3-questions-for-joachim-lauterbach-ceo-and-chairman-of-the-executive-board-of-the-wm-group\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Questions for Joachim Lauterbach, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of the WM Group"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Mr. Lauterbach, you have now been CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of the WM Group for almost a year. One of the messages the shareholders wanted to convey with your appointment was a signal of a new beginning. What has happened in this regard so far? Where have you taken the WM Group? And where do you intend to lead it over the next five years?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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When I joined WM, it quickly became clear to me that we have an exceptionally strong market position and a highly competent team that has been reliably serving the market for decades with a comprehensive securities management system. At the same time, I saw a market environment undergoing such profound changes due to digitalization, technological advancements, and regulation that it requires significant innovative strength and agility to thrive in it. Some of our processes and structures were not yet optimally aligned with this changing world.<\/p>

Our new beginning, therefore, does not consist of reinventing ourselves, but rather of consistently doing once again what made us great\u2014only in a more modern, faster, and more focused way.<\/p>

WM has played a central role in the capital market since 1947: We make financial instruments marketable by providing a regulatory framework. As the National Numbering Agency, the national issuing authority for ISINs and WKNs, we are the Golden Source for reference data. In 2025, we issued a total of over 11 million identifiers for the first time. Incidentally, we also do this for around 80 other countries that do not have their own issuing authority, from Iceland to Rwanda to New Zealand. With 6 out of 10 newly assigned ISINs worldwide, we are the world\u2019s largest ISIN issuer.<\/p>

A financial instrument does not automatically function in the market simply because it is issued. It must be uniquely identifiable, structured according to standards, and processable in systems. Only then can it be traded, regulated, accounted for, and taxed. That is exactly what we enable.<\/p>

We intend to systematically expand this role in the coming years\u2014technologically, in our products, and culturally. Specifically, this means: We are consistently modernizing our platform toward the cloud and AI for greater flexibility, automation, and new services. We are developing new services such as the Data Reporting Service, and we are extending our role into new areas, particularly digital assets, tokenization, and additional middle- and back-office services.<\/p>

Our goal for the next five years is clear: WM should not only be the backbone of a well-ordered capital market\u2014but once again a driving force behind its further development. Technologically leading, highly automated, fast, customer-focused, and approachable.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Even before you joined the WM Group, you had worked with market data in your previous roles and are familiar with the technical environment. That brings me to the question: What role can the WM Group play in the realm of market data in a world dominated by Bloomberg and Reuters terminals? What does the WM Group do better than its competitors?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Comparing us to Bloomberg or Reuters doesn\u2019t quite capture the full picture, because what we do is entirely different. These providers help users monitor markets and instruments and make decisions based on a broad range of data. We, on the other hand, ensure that transactions can be executed in the first place by making financial instruments marketable. This represents a completely different value proposition within the securities process.<\/p>

We also work with the industry to set key standards, particularly for regulatory reference data. A current example is the implementation of the German government\u2019s new retirement savings account, where we\u2019re collaborating with our clients to develop the best solution for providing the necessary data. Especially at a time when markets are becoming more complex and heavily regulated, the role of a navigation aid and traffic control system is gaining in importance. And I think I can say, in all modesty: With many millions of active WKNs in Germany\u2014aka road users\u2014no one does this as well as we do. That is a privilege, but even more so a responsibility. And we intend to continue living up to that responsibility in the future.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A few weeks ago, WM Datenservice became the first to record an ISIN on the blockchain as a regulatorily required identifier. What does this mean in general, and what does it mean for the WM Group?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The world\u2019s first allocation of an ISIN to a smart contract on the blockchain for a crypto-securities bond issued by DZ Bank was a significant milestone for WM Datenservice. It demonstrates that we can actively extend our role as a standard-setter into new technological environments. In doing so, we are linking the established, regulated financial market infrastructure with new digital forms of issuance and settlement. Even in the world of tokenised instruments, it is not just identifiers that are needed, but also accompanying reference data, so that all market participants speak the same language.
However, the allocation of an ISIN for a smart contract on the blockchain is more than just a technical milestone. It demonstrates something fundamental: the form of financial instruments is changing \u2013 yet the requirements placed upon them remain the same. Even a tokenised security must be uniquely identifiable, comprehensible and capable of being integrated into existing processes. Without this, it remains an isolated technical object.
With the ISIN \u2018on chain\u2019, we are bringing precisely this connectivity to the world of digital assets. In doing so, we are transferring our role to a new environment. And that is crucial, because the same applies to digital securities: the challenge of the future is not merely the issuance of instruments \u2013 but also their marketability. And that is exactly what we stand for \u2013 as a bridge between TradFi and DeFi.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Since you are not only the managing director of Datenservice but also of the B\u00f6rsen-Zeitung, please allow me to ask a fourth question that goes beyond the scope of our \u201c3 Questions for\u2026\u201d format.<\/p>

The B\u00f6rsen-Zeitung has earned a strong reputation in Frankfurt\u2019s financial community for its calm, objective, and in-depth reporting. What are your plans for the newspaper? And how can the B\u00f6rsen-Zeitung successfully expand its readership beyond Frankfurt\u2014for example, into political circles in Berlin?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The B\u00f6rsen-Zeitung stands for something that is more important today than ever before: context. In a world with ever-increasing amounts of data, opinions, \u201cnoise,\u201d and speed, the need for well-founded, independent guidance is growing. That is our mission\u2014and we are continuing to build on it.<\/p>

At the same time, reader behavior and information consumption are changing across different reader segments, which means the format must also evolve.<\/p>

That is why we are consistently expanding the B\u00f6rsen-Zeitung as a daily newspaper into a platform for the financial community. This includes a stronger integration of public and private markets, the expansion of digital formats and the enhancement of our newsletter offerings, the development of additional services for the community, and an organization that can respond more quickly to topics and deliver them tailored to specific reader segments.<\/p>

At the same time, the foundation remains unchanged: quality, depth, and independence in reporting. I am very pleased that the market perceives this as well, as reflected by the current BSW Business Journalism Award from the Federal Association for Structured Securities, which named us \u201cEditorial Team of the Year.\u201d<\/p>

As for reach, particularly in Berlin, the B\u00f6rsen-Zeitung has long been widely read there\u2014in ministries, in the Bundestag, and among regulators. We have also been active on the board of the Federal Press Conference for many years.<\/p>

And that is no coincidence. Those who make decisions in politics and the financial markets need reliable information\u2014not headlines. That is exactly what we stand for. And we will continue to do so.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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WM Group\u2019s new direction demonstrates how an established market leader is rethinking its role in the capital markets\u2014technologically, culturally, and strategically. CEO Mr. Lauterbach explains how innovation emerges from a strong foundation and why the future lies in the convergence of tradition and the digital financial world.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":53130,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"template-fullwidth.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finanzplatz","category-top-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-06 20:19:25","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/frankfurt-main-finance.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/frankfurt-main-finance.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/frankfurt-main-finance.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frankfurt-main-finance.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frankfurt-main-finance.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53125"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/frankfurt-main-finance.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53125\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53141,"href":"https:\/\/frankfurt-main-finance.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53125\/revisions\/53141"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frankfurt-main-finance.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/frankfurt-main-finance.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frankfurt-main-finance.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frankfurt-main-finance.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}