Commerzbank to drop EY as auditor in 2022 in wake of Wirecard scandal

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Commerzbank <CBKG.DE> on Wednesday became the latest company to drop EY as its auditor in the wake of the Wirecard accounting scandal whose accounts EY had signed off for years.

German payments company Wirecard <WDIG.DE> collapsed in June after a 1.9 billion euro (1.69 billion pounds)hole was discovered in its books.

Commerzbank booked some 175 million euros in losses related to loans to Wirecard.

Investors and creditors are distancing themselves from EY to avoid potential conflicts of interest as they weigh possible legal action to recoup their losses.

The decision by Commerzbank was taken at a meeting of the German bank's supervisory board on Wednesday and will be effective for the 2022 financial year.

It follows a similar move this week by German fund manager DWS.

EY was not able to give an immediate comment.

(Reporting by Tom Sims, Hans Seidenstuecker and Patrica Uhlig; editing by David Evans and Elaine Hardcastle)