U.S. finance officers postpone decision on German sanctions

WASHINGTON, April 15 (JTA) — U.S. public finance officials have decided to postpone any decision on sanctions against German banks and industries while negotiations continue to settle Holocaust-era claims. New York City Comptroller Alan Hevesi, who heads a committee representing 900 state and local finance officials, had previously said that Deutsche Bank’s planned $10.1 billion acquisition of Bankers Trust Corp. should not be approved until Germany’s biggest bank settled claims stemming from its use of slave labor during World War II. But after Jewish officials, Holocaust survivors and representatives of the German companies reported progress made toward establishing what will likely be a multibillion dollar fund to benefit Holocaust survivors, Hevesi said there was “reason to be encouraged.” He was speaking during a daylong hearing on the issue in New York City. “There seems to be an outstanding amount of good will between the Holocaust survivors, the German government and German business,” Hevesi said. A boycott threat last year by Hevesi’s committee helped persuade Swiss banks to reach a $1.25 billion settlement with Holocaust survivors. The settlement being negotiated with the German companies would compensate slave laborers, those who were forced to sell property in Germany at bargain prices during the Nazi era and other Jews who lost assets during the Holocaust. The World Jewish Congress, which is negotiating the settlement together with the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, recommended that consideration of sanctions be delayed until the committee meets again in 60 days. Elan Steinberg, executive director of the WJC, said Jewish officials are aiming to finalize the settlement by Sept. 1, with payments to Holocaust survivors to begin around the same time. The WJC, meanwhile, rejected Bank Austria’s offer to settle a lawsuit brought by Holocaust survivors. The bank reportedly was prepared to offer $40 million to settle claims that the company’s subsidiary, Creditanstalt, profited from the Holocaust and aided the Nazi war effort by buying and selling Jewish assets at steep discounts. The bank had claimed that it should not be liable for more because it said that Germany’s Deutsche Bank controlled Creditanstalt at the time. The WJC said that bank documents showed otherwise.