Former Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has been chairman of the supervisory board at Commerzbank for a good six months. A conversation about his first jobs as a youth, his new position and the question of what money means to him personally.
Jens Weidmann, 55, welcomes people in his office at Commerzbank. The view from the 47th floor is gigantic. At the Bundesbank it only went up six floors. On the sideboard next to his desk there is a farewell photo of his colleagues from the central bank world with good wishes. Christine Lagarde wrote “much love”. As President of the Bundesbank, Weidmann was very popular in Germany. In the dispute with the ECB, he was seen as the last man standing in the fight against the use of the printing press. Now the economist is on the other side of the financial world. As chairman of the supervisory board of Commerzbank, he oversees the fortunes of the partially state-owned institute. And he has time for more: as a lecturer at Frankfurt University and as an advisor to billionaires.