Shareholders, shareholder representatives, ladies and gentlemen. As Chairman of the Supervisory Board, I call this year's Annual General Meeting of Deutsche Börse AG to order. Pursuant to the company's articles of incorporation, I shall be presiding over this meeting. I would like to welcome you very warmly on behalf of both the Supervisory Board and Executive Board. After the last three Annual General Meetings in virtual format, we have again decided to hold today's meeting virtually. We are pursuing this general path of digitalization quite consciously. It has proved its worth in our communication regarding the performance of Deutsche Börse AG with shareholders worldwide, shareholder representatives, and members of the media. I am convinced that this way of conducting our Annual General Meeting will further enhance shareholder democracy, allowing both our national and international shareholders to actively participate without having to travel to the venue.
In addition, we contribute towards reducing carbon emissions caused by travel. Today's virtual annual general meeting is governed by a new legal framework, which has been thoroughly revised compared to legislation during the pandemic. The legislator has permanently introduced virtual AGMs, designating them as a full-fledged alternative to the face-to-face format. Shareholders' rights are to a very large extent identical with those at a face-to-face meeting. In particular, you, shareholders, have the right to address questions to the company during today's annual general meeting. These will then be answered during the meeting. We have actually offered this at previous AGMs on a voluntary basis, and this has earned us a substantial amount of positive feedback when talking with our investors. As a matter of fact, Deutsche Börse regularly receives excellent ratings when it comes to neutral governance rankings. We take this as both confirmation and challenge.
We are aware of the ongoing caveats concerning this format, and we take them very seriously. In particular, we have decided not to ask you to submit all your questions during the run-up to the AGM and restrict the right to ask questions during the AGM. We would rather like to strengthen the direct exchange with you, even in the virtual format. Following the report by the executive board, you will be able to address your questions directly to the executive board and supervisory board, no matter where in the world you are. We are convinced that our form of a virtual annual general meeting enables an open dialogue. Engaging in this dialogue with you helps us to continue creating value for you. I look forward to a very lively exchange with you.
Ladies and gentlemen, before we start with the business on today's agenda, let me give you some formal indications on today's meeting. I state for the record that the annual general meeting was duly convened by notice in the German Federal Gazette, or Bundesanzeiger, dated 28th of March, 2023. Since that day, the notice of the AGM and the other disclosures have been available on the company's website. Additional and explanatory information has also been made available on the company's website, and it is available during the AGM from the same source as well. I will therefore refrain from repeating this information in detail. As decided by the executive board and approved by the supervisory board, the AGM will be held as a virtual meeting without the physical presence of shareholders or their proxies. The supervisory board and the executive board are both physically present today.
The notarial record of today's AGM will be established by Notary Dr. Martin Schmidt, who is present here today. A very warm welcome to you. Two company proxies are present in this room, and later on, they will exercise the voting rights according to the instructions they have received. The entire AGM is being recorded, video and audio. In addition, the AGM is broadcast in full live on the internet for our shareholders and other interested parties. Even though this virtual AGM is held without the physical presence of shareholders, we still have to establish an attendance register according to the law. It will be continuously updated until the end of the AGM. The attendance register is still being created. I will inform you about attendance upon completion or, at the latest, before the first vote.
Exercising your voting right at this virtual AGM is possible either through postal ballot or by authorizing the two company-appointed proxies. Through our online service, you will be able to submit or amend your postal ballot on specific agenda items until voting is complete. Should you wish to exercise your voting right by instructing the two company-appointed proxies, please do so before the time that I will set during the voting process. To exercise your voting right, please use the respective buttons in our online service. Access to the online service is granted based on inputting your shareholder number and the personal identification number or PIN sent to you, or the password you created when registering for the online service. Shareholder proxies, please use the login data you were sent.
The right to speak, the right to information, and the right to submit motions can only be exercised by video through the online service at today's AGM. I will explain this in more detail later on. Ladies and gentlemen, let me now explain how we will proceed during today's debate. We have admitted live speakers at previous virtual AGMs. However, the instructions and the process are quite different this year. Could I therefore ask for your undivided attention? Please bear with me if I have to explain in quite a bit of detail now. Please structure your contribution as you would in a face-to-face annual general meeting. Restrict your points to the agenda items and potential points of order. In the interests of all other shareholders, please be brief.
As chairman of the meeting, it is my duty to ensure we proceed according to applicable rules and in a proper manner. For example, I have the right to limit the time to speak to ask questions in an appropriate way should I deem this necessary in the course of this meeting, especially in view of the number of registered but still pending requests to speak. Today's debate will be in the form of a general debate, which is the same procedure as in previous AGMs you attended. You have the opportunity to address all the agenda items during your contribution. There's no need to register separately for individual agenda items. As chairman, I'm also obliged to decide on the format in which you can address your questions to us today.
As announced in the notice, among other things, I hereby determine that questions can only be asked by video transmission. If you want to ask questions, please send a request to speak using the button that says "Request to speak." This has been open since the start of the AGM. It is then up to you to use the opportunity to speak, ask questions, or do both. To announce a motion or election proposal, please use the button called Motion/Election Proposal in the online service. As long as I haven't closed the list of speakers or declared the general debate closed, you can still submit motions and election proposals during your speaking time following a request to speak. I would still ask you to announce potential motions and election proposals using the button. That allows me to review and potentially prioritize your request to speak.
The annual general meeting is conducted in German. We are offering a non-binding convenience translation into English. We also intend to have contributions made in English translated into German and answer in German. This is another way of allowing more shareholders to participate directly. This language service is a courtesy offering only. We cannot guarantee availability or accuracy. Now for some more technical details about your requests to speak and the debate. When sending in a request to speak, please specify a phone number in the respective field so that we can contact you when there are connection issues. Please use the option of testing your camera and microphone, which is available in the online service. During the general debate, I will call the speakers in small groups and ask you to join our virtual waiting room.
There you will be connected to a staff member who will check with you whether video communication is working. After this functional test and when called by the chairman, you will be switched live with audio and video and can speak to the AGM, ask questions or submit motions. Going live will require a fully functional video and audio connection with you, with the shareholder and the company. In its absence, we will unfortunately have to reject the request to speak or terminate the contribution early if it happens while you speak. We have provided you with recommendations on optimal video communication together with the terms of use of our online service.
This includes the phone number of a hotline that you can talk to in case of technical problems. Ladies and gentlemen, in the run-up to the AGM, shareholders or representatives or proxies had the option of submitting comments through the online service. No comments were received by the company, however. Duly registered and electronically connected shareholders and representatives can object to resolutions by the AGM throughout the meeting. They can request that questions be minuted that weren't answered or weren't answered in full according to Section 131, paragraph five of the Stock Corporation Act. There is a button in the online service for this option, and the request will be sent directly to the notary. Should you declare an objection or request your question to be minuted, given the potential time lags due to internet transmissions, please do not wait until the very end.
Much for the formalities. Ladies and gentlemen, let us now turn to the business of the annual general meeting. Item one, as published in the German Federal Gazette, is on the presentation of the adopted annual financial statements and approved consolidated financial statements, the combined management report of Deutsche Börse Aktiengesellschaft, and the group as at 31st of December 2022, and the explanatory report on disclosures pursuant to Sections 289 A and 315 A of the German Commercial Code. In addition, Item one covers the report of the Supervisory Board and the proposal for the appropriation of the unappropriated surplus for a [audio distortion] . All the documents I have named have been available published on the website of the company since the notice of the AGM on the 20th of March, 2023.
They will be available for inspection there throughout today's meeting. Ladies and gentlemen, before I explain the report of the supervisory board to you, please allow me to address an issue which has long been close to my heart in my capacity as chairman of our company's supervisory board. A pessimistic mindset has been spreading in our world for quite some time. Whether it's climate change, demographic change, or changes in world politics, the general attitude seems to be that our economic and social model is giving us reason for pessimism. I believe this pessimism is the wrong attitude. I am convinced the world is not on the brink of collapse. On the contrary, today's world is much better than it was only a few decades ago. Over the past 40 years, global GDP has quadrupled.
Growth was most pronounced in South and East Asia, as well as in Africa. That is, in the world's poorer regions. This has brought about some positive changes. Of course, ladies and gentlemen, it does not mean that we should sit idle and relax. No, we must carry on our work and make every effort to make a difference. There are enormous tasks ahead of us. Think of the energy transition, to mention just one example. What we know for certain is that the solution will not emerge from places where nothing happens, from the debating clubs of radical critics of the market economy or equally radical technophobes. The solution lies in new technologies, in innovation. Here it is exchange organizations, and among them, your company, Deutsche Börse, play a key role.
It is a marketplace for capital and thus for investments which pave the way to a future that is worthwhile for our generation and those to come. I am convinced that a truly sustainable economy cannot be achieved without a profound change in the way in which we invest and consume. The circular economy is one possible key to a sustainable economy. Designed not for a cycle of consumption followed by disposal, but a cycle of using and recycling. It is about decoupling economic growth from resource depletion. Such an approach allows us to not only conserve natural resources but also increase the resilience of our economy. By reusing goods, we will make our economy less vulnerable to price increases for primary products and commodities and reduce the overuse of resources. In doing so, we would also considerably help achieve our climate goals.
We simply have to bring about a situation in which we increase the share of reused materials many times over in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The successful transformation to a circular economy requires functioning capital markets which direct capital to where it can contribute to a sustainable transformation of our business sector. The demand is clearly there. The volume of equity funds specializing in investments in the circular economy has increased by a factor of 30 since 2019, from $0.3 billion to $9.5 billion. The impact of this should not be underestimated. For this trend to continue, we need an infrastructure which mobilizes sufficient capital, enables fair pricing in a regulated environment, and provides reliable information on sustainable investment targets. In short, it requires efficient operators of infrastructure for the capital market.
That brings me back to Deutsche Börse. Deutsche Börse not only promotes innovation and invests in the future by organizing markets and by matching capital with solutions, it is itself an innovative company. Technological innovation is deeply rooted in Europe. This is true in defiance of all doomsayers. Europe remains a global leader in many areas, and in some areas increasingly so. Deutsche Börse is a significant contributor to this. Deutsche Börse AG has been a technology company since its establishment in the early 1990s. Information technology is the basis of the infrastructure provided by Deutsche Börse to markets worldwide. IT is also the key to the success of Eurex. Since the late 1990s, this subsidiary of ours has fundamentally reshaped derivatives trading, and it has done so from a vantage point of an outsider.
Today, Eurex is one of the world's most important derivatives exchanges, and its innovative power to develop new products has not diminished. There are other subsidiaries of Deutsche Börse which extend this pioneering role to other markets. 360T in the international foreign exchange market. The European Energy Exchange, EEX, in the global market for contracts on electricity and gas. With 360T, we even have a success story to tell about the rise of a garage startup to a global enterprise. EEX, in turn, creates competition in the energy market as a trading venue for contracts on electricity and gas. Doing so, it lays the groundwork for innovations in the energy sector, and thus it contributes to the energy transition. Last year, it enabled customers to hedge against the rise in energy prices. Whether it's electricity contracts, foreign exchange, derivatives or securities, the foundation for exchange trading is information.
Electronic exchange will only reap the full benefit of its efficiency advantages for its customers and for the economy if data and analytical tools for trading are available, are fast and reliable. Deutsche Börse ensures that this is the case as well. It has thus made the German and European markets fit for the future and is active globally in the data sector, a business area with great potential. This includes data which does not exclusively serve trading purposes. This is where sustainable growth and long-term growth is happening. It is therefore only logical for Deutsche Börse to expand this segment with the acquisition of SimCorp, a provider of investment management software and services. Deutsche Börse is thus strengthening its pre-trading offering. The goal is to transform the segment Data & Analytics into Investment Management Solutions. I consider this a great strategic development. Dr. Weimer.
Dr. Weimer will report on this in detail later on. In this situation, Deutsche Börse holds a role which is more important than ever. Ensuring information is authentic. We are increasingly seeing news being manipulated and spread in no time through digital networks. Ascertaining the origin of data will be one of the biggest challenges of the next few years. It is all the more important that companies like Deutsche Börse AG has the means and the will to do so, and reliably generates and provides accurate information. Data analysis is supported by a cloud-based infrastructure. In other words, by accessing a pool of computing resources that external providers and we make available. In the financial sector, the cloud was uncharted territory and built until fairly recently, amongst others, for regulatory reasons. Deutsche Börse was a pioneer regarding the use of cloud technology in financial industry.
Intensifying its collaboration with various partners enables Deutsche Börse to use cloud technology for more technological innovations. Deutsche Börse will create an ecosystem for trading digital assets, including tokens. Tokens for real estate or music rights. This cooperation will benefit D7, among other things. Platform which allows securities to be digitalized without requiring a paper-based instrument. Again, Deutsche Börse has broken new ground. This brings me to my next point. Artificial intelligence will be decisive in shaping the future of digitalization. It will also be used widely in the financial industry. In fact, it already is. When analyzing and optimizing capital investments. Deutsche Börse has, for instance, invested in Clarity AI, a company using artificial intelligence to facilitate sustainable investing. I am confident that we will quite soon hear a lot more about these and other digital applications in the financial industry.
In similar ways as computer trading has done since the 1980s, IT will render the way we do business more efficient and more effective. Deutsche Börse will contribute significantly to this development. We, as the Deutsche Börse Supervisory Board, will support and monitor the strategy, just as we did in 2022. Let me summarize. The key to a bright future lies in technology and in mobilizing resources that allow solutions to be developed. I am deeply committed to this effort, as we all are. Ladies and gentlemen, this brings me back to the mandatory part of my presentation, and I will now provide an overview of the work of the supervisory board within the past financial year. In doing so, I will illustrate the report of the supervisory board. The latter is part of the Deutsche Börse Group annual report 2022, which I will refer to.
I shall limit myself to the essentials. Deutsche Börse AG's supervisory board discussed in-depth the company's position and prospects in the reporting period. In doing so, we fulfilled our legal obligations, the company's articles of incorporation and bylaws. We have advised the executive board regularly on its management of the company and monitored its work. We were involved in all decisions of fundamental importance. Our work was again dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Above all, by Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. This war is not only an attack against the global community's fundamental values with terrible consequences for those directly and indirectly affected. It also poses extreme challenges to our economic and financial system. In the 2022 fiscal year, we advised on the continued implementation of the group's Compass 2023 strategy and the IT strategy 2023+.
From the beginning of the war of aggression against Ukraine on the 24th of February 2022, we were also closely involved in the analysis of its effects and potential risks for Deutsche Börse Group. Another focus area of our work were environmental, social and governance matters. ESG, again, environmental social governance. The supervisory board looked at the importance of ESG matters for Deutsche Börse Group as a whole, the business opportunities it presents, and the progress made in each area. ESG is also a core component of the remuneration system of the executive board, which was revised in 2021. The report on its implementation was approved by a large majority at the annual general meeting in 2022. We discussed fundamental strategic options on a regular basis. We were also involved in an advisory capacity in Deutsche Börse Group's activities to buy and sell companies and parts thereof.
This includes, in particular, the friendly takeover offer for SimCorp announced on the 27th of April this year, as well as the planned combining of Qontigo and ISS. The Executive Board informed us on an ongoing basis about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Deutsche Börse Group. At our meetings, the Executive Board provided us with comprehensive and timely information in accordance with the legal requirements. The high frequency of plenary and committee meetings and workshops ensured a highly active exchange of information between the Supervisory Board and the Executive Board. The CEO, Dr. Theodor Weimer, kept me informed continuously and regularly, on a weekly basis that is, concerning the current developments affecting the company's business, significant transactions, upcoming decisions, as well as the long-term outlook, and discussed these with me. There were seven plenary meetings in 2022.
As part of the continued professional development of supervisory board members, there were also four workshops on ESG, corporate governance, compliance, and technology. The supervisory board had seven permanent committees in the reporting year. The committees are responsible primarily for preparing decisions and content for the plenary meetings. To the extent legally permissible, the supervisory board delegated some decision-making powers to the committees. Committee chairpersons reported in detail to the plenary meetings on the work performed. I chaired the Nomination Committee, the Strategy and Sustainability Committee, the Chairman's Committee, and the Mediations Committee. Average attendance for all supervisory board members at the plenary and committee meetings was 99% during the reporting period. Let us now focus on the key areas of our work in the supervisory board. During the reporting period, we discussed the implementation of our group strategy, Compass 2023, in detail.
We advised the executive board on all relevant aspects of the strategy. The effects of potential risks for Deutsche Börse Group of the war of aggression against Ukraine were another focus area of our work. In this context, we discussed the full and proper implementation of the international sanctions regime against Russia. Moreover, we looked very closely at the stability of our trading and settlement systems during times of high capacity utilization and market volatility. We also discussed in depth our cyber resilience. That is, how well our IT systems resist attacks. We also dealt with the implementation status of the IT strategy 2023+. It was aligned with the group strategy Compass 2023. It supports its objectives and focuses on the requirements of the business side.
A key element of the IT strategy 2023+ is the ongoing development of IT in the business areas in order to support the implementation of the business objectives below the level of the group's strategy. How and to what extent cloud technology is to be used going forward, and the corresponding expertise play a major role. We also dealt with IT security and monitored the preparations for the planned introduction of the SAP system S/4HANA. Another important aspect or area of our supervisory board work in the reporting year were the various acquisitions and equity investments designed to strategically expand and strengthen our business. Deutsche Börse acquired the fund data manager, Kneip Communication, to strengthen its growth areas of fund services and data.
We also discussed structural and organizational changes in the fund services and securities services segments following the resegmentation of our business areas in the reporting year. An overarching element of our work was, again, the discussion of different ESG aspects and the progress made. The measures and the progress that was achieved were part of that. The importance of ESG for Deutsche Börse Group and the resulting business opportunities were the key points of the debate. We started with an overview of the market for ESG products and its main influencing factors. Moreover, we discussed the role of market infrastructure providers in the transformation of the economy towards sustainability, as well as key ESG product initiatives of Deutsche Börse Group. In addition, we discussed the regulatory challenges in ESG reporting. Sustainability targets play an important role in the current remuneration system for the executive board.
We approved the remuneration report on the implementation of the Executive Board remuneration system in 2021 as part of the annual financial statements. The remuneration report was approved by a majority of 95.93% of shareholders at the last Annual General Meeting on the 18th of May, 2022. We also added expertise on sustainability matters to the qualification requirements for members of the Executive Board and Supervisory Board. Other key areas of our Supervisory Board's work were the decisions taken in the reporting period on the future composition of the Executive Board and the changes in the membership of the Supervisory Board. In this reporting year, we again ensured continuity in the composition of the Executive Board. We renewed the appointment of Heike Eckert, responsible for governance, people, and culture, until the 30th of June, 2023. 2028, rather.
At the annual general meeting of Deutsche Börse AG on the 18th of May, 2022, which again had to be held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Shannon A. Johnston was elected to the supervisory board of Deutsche Börse AG via a by-election. The composition of the supervisory board committees was adjusted accordingly. In the reporting period, we again had regular and detailed discussions concerning the ongoing investigation by the public prosecutor's office in Cologne regarding the design and execution of cum- ex transactions by market participants. In the opinion of the public prosecutor's office, such transactions were used by market participants to reclaim tax fraudulently. Other important litigation and legal proceedings concerning Deutsche Börse Group were also an important aspect of our work on the supervisory board.
The efficiency, suitability, and effectiveness of our internal control systems and the handling of findings by internal control functions, as well as external auditors and regulatory authorities, were another important area of our work. In November and December 2022, I met with institutional investors and proxy advisors to discuss current governance regarding the supervisory board. These meetings focused on the work of the supervisory board in the reporting year and its appointments for the supervisory board and the executive board. They were about a possible increase in executive board remuneration and plans for holding future annual general meetings in a virtual format. I summarized my dialogue with investors in the plenary meetings and the meetings of the nomination committee. Let me now briefly summarize the audit of the annual and consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2022.
PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH based in Frankfurt am Main, audited the annual financial statements of Deutsche Börse AG and issued an unqualified audit opinion. The same applies to the consolidated financial statements and the integrated combined management report together with the accounting system. The condensed financial statements and interim management report contained in the half-yearly financial report for the first six months of 2022 were reviewed by PwC. The documents relating to the financial statements and the reports by PwC were submitted to us for inspection and examination in good time. The auditors responsible were Marc Billeb and Dr. Michael Rönnberg. The auditors attended the relevant meetings of the audit committee and the meeting of the full supervisory board for approval of the financial statements. In all cases, also without the executive board members present. They reported on the key audits results.
They explained the net assets, financial position, and results of operations of the company and the group, and were available to provide further information. They also had regular exchanges with me and the Chairs of the Audit Committee and Risk Committee, also outside the meetings. The audit of the annual and consolidated financial statements, as well as the combined management report and non-financial declaration, did not give rise to any objections. No facts were identified in the course of the audit that would indicate any inaccuracies in the declaration of conformity pursuant to Section 161 Stock Corporation Act, as declared by the Executive Board and Supervisory Board. An obligation of the auditor to inform the Chair of the Audit Committee had been agreed. Neither were there any objections regarding the non-mandatory review of the form and substance of the remuneration report.
On a regular basis, the supervisory board discussed the services provided by PwC in addition to their statutory auditing services. There were no grounds for suspecting that the auditor's impartiality or independence might be impaired. The audit committee discussed the financial statement documents and the reports by PwC in detail with the auditors and examined them carefully itself. It is satisfied that the reports meet the statutory requirements under Sections 317 and 312 HGB, German Commercial Code, in particular. The audit committee reported to the supervisory board on its examination and recommended that it approve the annual financial statements and consolidated financial statements. Our own examination during a plenary meeting of the 2022 annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements, and the integrated combined management report did not lead to any objections. We therefore approved the result of the audit.
We approved the annual financial statements prepared by the executive board and consolidated financial statements at our meeting on the 9th of March, 2023, in line with the audit committee's recommendation. As a result, the annual financial statements of Deutsche Börse AG have been adopted. The audit committee discussed the executive board's proposal for the appropriation of the unappropriated surplus or Bilanzgewinn in detail with the executive board. The discussion covered the company's liquidity, its financial planning, and shareholder interests. Following this discussion and its own examination, the audit committee concurred with the executive board's proposal for the use of the appropriation of unappropriated surplus. Following our own examination of the executive board's proposal, the plenary meeting of the supervisory board also granted its approval.
I would like to thank the executive board and all employees for their great commitment and outstanding work in this exceptional year, 2022. This was all the more remarkable due to the challenging geopolitical situation and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you very much. Beyond these points, I would like to refer you to the written report of the supervisory board, which is part of the annual report 2022, where you will find, if you're interested, the corporate governance statement, the declaration of conformity regarding the recommendations of the German Corporate Governance Code, and the remuneration report on the compensation granted and owed to the members of the executive board and supervisory board for fiscal 2022. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to wrap up.
First, Deutsche Börse is a technology company which has been and remains a successful pioneer. The IT Strategy 2023 is a vital contributor to this. The discussion on its implementation was therefore one of the focus areas of the supervisory board's activities last year. Second, another central area was the importance of ESG for the strategy and governance of Deutsche Börse. Third, compliance and regulatory questions were another priority of our work. With that, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to hand over to the chairman of our executive board, our CEO, Dr. Theodor Weimer.
Infrastructures, the neural pathways of modern societies. They make us mobile, provide us with energy, allow us to share information. They deliver innovation and progress. A thriving economy without functioning infrastructures, unthinkable. We at Deutsche Börse know stable and innovative market infrastructures are crucial for an economy's success. That is why we operate and design our infrastructures with state-of-the-art technologies to offer access to reliable and stable capital markets. This turns us into a driver for growth and innovation, and makes our work not only essential for today but also for the future. After all, it's only through innovation that we can build a sustainable and future-proof economy for the prosperity of those who will follow us. We contribute to this and create trust today and tomorrow.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you our 2022 annual story today, which of course extends into the year 2023, which also outlines our future. It's a positive story that only seemingly contrasts with the dark clouds of the world. Our insight is that the dark clouds lead to uncertainty. This drives the markets, but also stimulates our business. Our story goes far beyond that. It's a story of ongoing change, a story that has a lot of exciting things to offer in every chapter. You heard it in the video, a thriving economy without functioning infrastructures, unthinkable. Think of rail and road networks, airports, power supply, also gas pipelines. Last year, they were on everyone's lips. Think of telecommunications, the universe of functionalities on our smartphones. Yes, when you think about the importance of infrastructures, also think about exchange organizations, about us.
Infrastructures have changed the world. They mark chapters in the history of progress. They are part of it. Nothing works without infrastructures or not much. Stock exchanges are infrastructures for the capital market. At the core of these infrastructures are data. They direct powerful capital flows. These capital and financial flows are as important as electricity. They supply the economy with energy. By the way, we are just as dependent on the capital market as we are on energy. We should always bear this in mind. Do you remember last year's AGM? At the time, I said data is our new resource. One journalist even counted how many times I used the word data in my speech. 31 x. There was and is a reason for that. We refine this resource, we process it into indices such as the DAX and stocks.
We distribute it through our market infrastructure, which we improve continuously for the big investors and issuers of this world. Now we want to expand our offering in the field of software and services for investment management. A field that is becoming increasingly important among investors, that helps to structure portfolios according to risk appetite, to implement trading strategies, supports in accounting and reporting. That is our story I want to tell you today. That is our future. This year, we're opening a new chapter by acquiring SimCorp and by combining our Data & Analytics businesses. Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders, shareholder representatives, with that, welcome to the annual general meeting of your Deutsche Börse. It's good to be able to address all of you today, no matter where in the world you happen to be. For all the progress in digital infrastructure, one thing remains unchanged.
You'll have the opportunity to ask live questions in a moment, and we'll be happy to answer them. I look forward to this interchange. I think we have a lot of good things to report about your company. You know me, we stay down to earth. Unfortunately, our good news does not reflect the present situation in the world. Hardly anything has changed for the better since last year, in fact. While the economy has not slid into a recession, economic growth has slowed across the world, and the economy is stagnating in Germany. Inflation is stubbornly high. It's a burden for many people, especially for those who do not have that much. Ladies and gentlemen, the past two years have demanded a lot from all of us. We had to look down into more than one abyss.
What we went through will continue to shape our societies and economies for generations to come. Without wanting to get too biblical, sometimes I'm reminded of the seven plagues of the New Testament. I've been a CEO for 14 years, nine years at the bank, a little over five years at Deutsche Börse. In these 14 years, seven plagues befell us, changed the world, shocked us. First, the big financial crisis. Second, the Italian, Greek, and Euro crises emerging from it. Third, the broad sovereign debt crisis. Fourth, the three-year COVID plague. Fifth, Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine, changing everything. Six, the return of inflation. Seventh, the worsening of the climate crisis. Only a few of these crises have been overcome. We're still in the grip of many of them. Of some, we must be deeply ashamed, ladies and gentlemen. I refuse to give up hope.
Let's tackle it. Because optimism is a duty, according to Karl Popper, a proponent of open societies. He added, "One must focus on the things for which one is responsible." For me, that means we have to continuously enhance the infrastructure for the markets we operate. We must lavish care on your company shareholders, especially in hard times. That's exactly what we do at Deutsche Börse. We do everything we can do to keep our promises, and sometimes, with a bit of luck, even to over-deliver on them, just like last year. This brings me to the good news I mentioned earlier. We have once again exceeded our targets, and this time by a wide margin. Our net revenue grew by 24% in 2022 to EUR 4.3 billion.
21 percentage points of this amount were generated organically, that is to say, without acquisitions. In detail, our growth consists of 14% cyclical growth, 7% secular growth. Another 3% was achieved through acquisitions. This means that we benefited from tailwinds. That was the cyclical part. We also expanded under our own steam, and that was the secular part. We have purchased additional thrust through acquisitions. We also increased the share of recurring income, which now stands at 60%. That's income from licenses for which our customers pay a regular fixed amount. What does that mean? When we open for business at the beginning of the year, we've already booked 60% of our revenue, and that's a substantial cushion. The reason for that is quite simple. We're systematically expanding our Data & Analytics business. We're reducing our dependence on cyclicality step by step.
The contracts we enter into with our customers in this business generate regular payments. This makes our income much easier to plan. Another milestone last year was the first issuance of a digital security via the D7 system of our post-trading subsidiary, Clearstream. This digital bond was issued by none other than the government's development bank, KfW, and it sold like hotcakes. This shows us it's time for the digital markets of the future. With D7, we are creating the necessary infrastructure, a network for digital securities. I predict the future also belongs to trading in digital asset classes that are not securities. Bottom line, our 2022 EBITDA and consolidated net income both increased by 24%, with EBITDA reaching EUR 2.5 billion and net income EUR 1.5 billion.
The reason that profits did not grow faster than revenue is that our costs increased with high inflation also leaving its mark on us. It was important to us to also let our employees share in the company's strong success in the form of one-time payments, bonuses, and share-based compensation. It's simply a question of fairness, and it encourages maximum performance. Overall, we've met the targets of our Compass 2023 growth strategy one year earlier than planned. The strategy and its implementation were therefore a resounding success. In any case, I don't see any strategic shortness of breath on our part, which often goes hand in hand with the confluence of various crises in the market environment. Once again, we delivered on our promises, and we did it even faster than initially communicated.
That's why we can now fully focus on what lies ahead and continue to create value for you, our shareholders. The success of this company in times like these is driven by the performance of our teams around the world day after day. We employ over 11,000 people around the globe. They're on average 38 years young, have been with our company for almost seven years, have 115 nationalities. They work at 55 locations in Europe, in the Middle East, in North and South America, in Asia, and in Australia. In 69 companies of our group, only one in four employees is German. The diversity of our one global team makes us proud and better every day. Our employees are passionate about the company. They work a lot. They enjoy it. Together, they develop the best ideas. They criticize and discuss.
They appreciate each other, respect each other. If you're right, it's not because you're sitting at the top, it's because your arguments are more convincing. Our employees stand for commitment, for professional expertise. They're strong personalities. That is how we select them, and in that way, we promote them. Employees of Deutsche Börse, I consider myself fortunate to be able to work with you, and I know that this feeling is shared by the entire executive board. Thank you. What unites us all is the conviction that diversity is critical to our global success, and we all work for the success of your company with great enthusiasm every day. Now, representing the many personalities and stories in our workforce, I'd like to introduce four of them to you today. Our journey begins in London. Anja van den Berg has been with us for three years.
She leads a team that provides stock exchange data and long-term analysis to clients around the world. At the same time, she mentors other women. Her highlight of the past year? At the European Women in Finance Awards, she won the Rising Star prize. No wonder, well-deserved. Congratulations, Anja. Anja has 15 years experience in our industry, specifically in the area where we set our strategic priorities at Deutsche Börse. What she likes best about working for us? She mediates between our customers' wishes and the products developed by our experts. By the way, she affectionately calls them quants, the quantum physicists of the markets. It should also be noted that Anja has increased sales year- after- year in the three years she's been working for Deutsche Börse. All I can say is keep it up, Anja.
From London to Eschborn and to the youngest in the group, Florian Heinz. At the end of August 2018, he started his training as an IT specialist for system integration with us immediately after graduating from high school in Oberursel, not far from our headquarters, by the way, in Eschborn, with a focus on computer science. He graduated two years ago with bravura and an award as one of the best of that year from the Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Florian stayed with us after his training. There was no question about that. Since July 2021, he's been part of the Xetra Eurex administration team. There, he looks after our Linux servers, which keep our trading systems up and running. One of his most exciting projects so far has been the complete rebuild of part of the server infrastructure to keep us efficient, modern, and up to date.
There, he was able to contribute his own ideas and immediately help to implement them. This is how careers begin at Deutsche Börse. On to Asia, to a true veteran of Deutsche Börse, Robert Ali. Robert Ali has been with us for a long time, 25 years. He started out in the Dubai office. He's a native of Lebanon. He grew up in Canada and studied in the U.K. He now heads the commercial team that serves our 450 customers throughout Asia and the Middle East from the Singapore office. He has a soft spot for Asia because the pulse of the economy beats faster there and because it's important to make long-term commitments there and to developing the right talents on the ground. That's what he values and promotes.
His highlight last year, he was able to visit our customers on-site again, finally, to get some first-hand experience of their wishes and concerns. Robert and his team recorded a total of 500 personal meetings with customers last year. They were worth it, with total assets under management increasing noticeably. For Robert, that's easy to do because he knows the customer's business firsthand. In fact, he was a floor trader himself before joining us. That makes him a particularly good fit for us. We're happy to be able to count on him and his teams. Moving on to the U.S., Alfreda Oladym has been with us for more than 20 years. She started in 2002. Initially at our London office. Why with us in particular? We were a trailblazer in Europe with our electronic market infrastructure. She was enthused by that.
The highlight of her career so far, she led the post-Brexit transformation for Deutsche Börse's clients. A mammoth project with lots and lots of unknowns, where the ability to understand our clients' wishes was more important than ever. With contributions from many other divisions, all of which Alfre had to coordinate, and she did an excellent job. She didn't stop there. Today, Alfre works at our Chicago office, where she heads up our U.S. clients' Trading & Clearing business. Anja, Florian, Robert, Alfre, a big thank you to you and all the other employees of Deutsche Börse Group. Once again, you did a great job last year. I'd also like to thank you, our shareholders, for it's your capital and your trust that create the foundation of our success.
Which is why we've once more increased the dividend by as much as 13% to EUR 3.60. This enables you to share in our success. At the same time, we retain some strategic leeway for investments, future growth, so that we can create value for you going forward. Here we're quite old-fashioned. We believe in growth. We believe that our growth makes the world a better place. We believe that no company was ever ruined by profits, to quote Professor Hermann Simon, someone whom I hold in high regard. Now, how have things been going for us so far in 2023? In short, very well indeed. In the first quarter, net revenue increased by 16% to EUR 1.2 billion. Our EBITDA grew by 12% to around EUR 770 million, mind you, in the first quarter.
We keep our feet on the ground. The year has only just begun. We'll continue to stay focused in our work. That's the way it should be. What do we expect? For the current year, we expect net revenue of between EUR 4.5 billion and EUR 4.7 billion, and EBITDA of between EUR 2.6 billion and EUR 2.8 billion. Why are we giving you a range for this year? Well, it's hard to quantify the cyclical and geopolitical effects on our business. There's a recession looming on the horizon, hopefully a mild one. There are simply too many unknowns. A year like the last one is a hard act to follow. Improving high prior year increases is a difficult thing to do.
After the strong start into the year, we're confident that we'll reach or even exceed the upper end of the range if the tailwind continues. In the first quarter, we already took another important step in the digital transformation of the capital markets. In February, we announced a strategic partnership with Google Cloud. We've been present in the cloud for many years. Around 35% of our computing power is already in the cloud. Now we want to gradually increase that to 70% step by step. The partnership with Google Cloud gives us the opportunity to build an entire ecosystem for digital assets. Together with Google Cloud, we're building a digital platform for assets that will make non-securities tradable in a secure and trust-based environment. What's more, we'll accelerate the development of our D7 platform with Google Cloud.
I'd like to emphasize one thing: We're not tagging along with Google Cloud. We drive the partnership from the business side, use their technology, the technology of Google Cloud. Both sides want to build something big. Together with Google Cloud, we'll work to advance our data strategy. In this way, we're creating another engine to drive the future growth of your company, ladies and gentlemen. In doing so, we'll expand our infrastructure for the markets of tomorrow. What will our strategy for the coming years look like? We've been looking at this since the end of last year. Our new strategy is named Horizon 2026. It signifies we're reaching for new horizons. We'll present it in autumn this year. I can already give you a glimpse today. The cornerstones are in place. We've already initiated an important first step as part of this strategy.
It consists of 3 parts. First, the acquisition of SimCorp. Second, the combination of Qontigo and ISS, our Data & Analytics companies. Third, the creation of a new Investment Management Solutions segment. Let's take a look at SimCorp first. SimCorp is a Danish company listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange. With more than 2,200 employees, it has a worldwide presence. It offers software and technology-based investment management services. Its customers include renowned asset managers from around the world. At the end of April, we announced a friendly takeover bid for an acquisition of SimCorp. We want to acquire at least 50% of the shares, plus one share via a tender, and we'd be happy to buy a lot more.
Our financing of almost EUR 4 billion is designed in such a way that we could also handle a complete tender of all shares. Friendly, that means we have the full support of the board of directors and executive management of SimCorp. Why SimCorp in particular? Quite simply because SimCorp is the perfect complement to Deutsche Börse. This acquisition will close a gap in our value chain. Up to now, we supported the design and management of investment portfolios of professional investors. Other areas include risk management and reporting. In future, we'll also support the execution of trading strategies, accounting, and the subsequent settlement processes. In other words, we are boosting our capacity for offerings for the middle and back offices of large professional investors, the so-called buy side asset managers. We'll be active in the investors' engine room, covering the entire investment management process.
Another factor is that we already have first-hand knowledge of the company, its management, and its highly professional team. We trust SimCorp. We spent a lot of time with SimCorp's management in recent months. These are professionals. They know their business and can be proud of what they've achieved so far. I'm convinced the chemistry is right, the management is strong, the corporate culture is a good fit. Our colleagues at Qontigo, our Data & Analytics subsidiary, can confirm that. They've been working closely with SimCorp in a partnership for years. This brings me to the second part, the planned combination of our Data & Analytics subsidiaries, Qontigo and ISS, Institutional Shareholder Services. Both have established themselves as heavyweights in their sector. ISS stands for sustainability data. The quality of the ESG data provided by ISS has an excellent reputation.
With its stocks and DAX, Qontigo has two particularly strong brands to offer. By combining these two entities, we'll create a leading provider of high-quality indices and sustainability data. It's but much more than just a dream, and it shows you the extent of the potential we think this company has, this combination of ISS and Qontigo. This leads me to the third part. Together, ISS, Qontigo, and SimCorp will become a new growth segment for Deutsche Börse Group. We are taking the step from Data & Analytics to software and services for investment management. This is why we're renaming our existing Data & Analytics segment to Investment Management Solutions. This name is more catchy. It shows where we start. It is our aim to accompany the entire investment management process with data, with analytics, and with software for our clients.
Expressed in numbers, this means for us, we're increasing our share of the existing Data & Analytics business from 15% to 24%, to more than EUR 1.2 billion in revenues. This will make us more independent of the cyclical ups and downs so typical of our traditional markets. Our secular growth will become stronger. We'll expand into new markets, and the share of recurring income will also continue to rise. The expansion of our infrastructure and related services is the common thread in our growth story. A new chapter is about to begin as we close a gap in our existing portfolio and expand an important division to give it room for further growth in the future, an exciting, a very exciting sequel. Now, what does this mean for you, our shareholders? It means that your company, Deutsche Börse, will create even more value than before. Why?
Beyond our traditional trading and post-trading businesses, we're moving closer to the buy side, to asset managers, asset owners, investors. This will strengthen our position in the investment ecosystem. At the same time, the acquisition will allow us to realize significant synergies on both the income and the cost side. We're therefore not only enhancing our growth potential, we're also becoming more efficient. Now, the acquisition is not yet cut and dried. SimCorp shareholders still have to accept our offer, and the competent authorities have to. We'll not waste the time gained. We'll continue to work in a focused manner. Third, we're convinced that the strategic path we embarked upon years ago is still the right way forward. We're putting the pieces together one after the other. Actually, the picture and the mosaic should also become clearer and clearer for you, ladies and gentlemen.
Our strategic Horizon 2026 program is the logical continuation of our story. Shareholders, I'd like to thank you also on behalf of the entire Executive Board for your loyalty to our company. Now I look forward to your questions. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Theo, for your very comprehensive report on the very, very good numbers and the strategy and the future outlook. Ladies and gentlemen, let me announce that the final text of Dr. Weimer's speech will be available on the company's website after today's annual general meeting. In fact, we have made drafts of Dr. Weimer's and my speeches available on the web for your preparation. Meanwhile, the record of attendance is available. This record shows the two proxies made available by the company and the numbers of shares represented by them. As required by law today, this record also lists the shareholders and shareholder representatives who have joined this meeting electronically. This is all those who are logged on to our online service at a given point in time and are thus participating in this annual general meeting.
If these persons have instructed the two proxies provided by the company to cast their votes in their behalf, this has been flagged accordingly in the record of attendance. Let me now announce based on the latest record of attendance, ladies and gentlemen, of the company's share capital 148,908,170 votes on non par value share, shares are represented at the AGM. This corresponds to 78.37% of the company's share capital. In addition, we received posts of votes on 595,794 non par value shares. Ladies and gentlemen, let me point out that the registration rate for this AGM is an absolute record level for Deutsche Börse, and we're very glad about this.
As I pointed out, we would like to reach as many of our shareholders as possible with this AGM and with this high registration rate, we feel confirmed on this. The record of attendance is now available here in the room and can be inspected on the online service. Any possible updates will also be made available in the same way. Ladies and gentlemen, we have received some detailed information concerning today's agenda, in particular with the notice of today's annual general meeting. Let me still make a few remarks on the agenda items to complement this. Right afterwards, we're starting the general debate. Concerning agenda item two, I would like to point out that the appropriation of unappropriated surplus, as proposed by the management board, needs to be adjusted for the number of shares bearing dividend rights.
As announced in the notice, the proposal of the appropriation of the unappropriated surplus as published in the Federal Gazette is up for the vote today in an amended version. This amendment relates to the number of shares bearing dividend rights that has changed in the meantime. It continues to provide for a payout of EUR 3.60 per non per par value share bearing dividend rights. The proposed resolution as amended is this. The Executive Board and the Supervisory Board propose that the unappropriated surplus reported in the adopted annual financial statements as at the 31st of December 2022, totaling EUR 700 million, be appropriated as follows: To pay a dividend of EUR 3.60 for each no par value share carrying dividend rights. This is a total of EUR 661,459,662.
To allocate EUR 38,540,338 in other retained earnings. The ballot later on relates to this amended proposal for a resolution and not to the original proposal as published in the Federal Gazette. The Notary Public is going to reflect this in his written record. In today's Agenda Item 5A, both the management board and the supervisory board propose to authorize the management board in the articles of incorporation to hold future annual general meetings in a virtual format as well, very similar to what nearly all other stock-listed companies are proposing to their shareholders. In line with the statutory requirement, this authorization is to be limited to a certain time. We are not making full use of the statutory maximum of five years, but are proposing an authorization for two years.
This will enable you to review your decision on this authorization again after two years. We will demonstrate that we are making responsible use of this authorization over the next two years, choosing a format for the annual general meeting in which we inform you comprehensively and within which you can effectively exercise your shareholders' rights. If you follow our proposal, the management board will decide on this basis for each individual annual general meeting, whether this authorization is used and the AGM is held in a virtual format. It is going to take into account the circumstances of each individual case and the interests of the company and of its shareholders. Among other things, experience from the previous years, health and safety of all parties involved, and sustainability criteria, effort, and cost will be considered.
Should the decision be in favor of a virtual format, it will be decided by the management board on the exact implementation, especially of shareholders' rights to ask questions. At present, the company intends to hold any possible future AGMs in a way that is largely comparable to today's AGM. In particular, it is intended to allow shareholders to ask their questions during the virtual meeting. We do not intend to refer you to the run-up to the AGM with your questions and to allow only follow-up questions or requests for further particulars during the annual general meeting. In fact, we have pointed this out in the notice document because you are quite right in wishing to get an idea of how we will make use of the discretion granted to us. Allow me also to make a short complementary remark on Agenda Item 5 B.
In this item, we propose amendments to the articles of incorporation that would allow members of the supervisory board to attend the AGM virtually in certain defined circumstances. In principle, members of the supervisory board will attend the AGM in person. All of them are present today. However, if the AGM is run in a virtual format, a virtual attendance of supervisory board members seems quite appropriate. In fact, according to the statutory requirements, supervisory board members have a passive role during the annual general meeting. At the same time, a physical attendance causes costs and carbon emissions, especially when we think of the journeys of our international supervisory board members. Let us now embark on the agenda.
I've made a few complementary remarks on some agenda items. All agenda items are available to you in full text, so I shall not comment any further on each individual agenda item. Ladies and gentlemen, let me now throw the floor open for discussion on all agenda items. Let me now ask shareholders and shareholder representatives to request the floor on the agenda items if they wish to speak. Please announce your contributions by using the Request to Speak button on the online service. As explained at the beginning of the meeting, I would like to ask you to test on the online service, whether your camera and your microphone are working. In order to make sure of an orderly and focused discussion, I shall call you in blocks and invite you to our virtual lounge.
Please wait until you see the dialogue field for entering the virtual lounge on the online service. In order to enter the virtual lounge, please acknowledge by mouse click the dialogue field shown on your screen. When entering the virtual lounge, the image and sound quality are checked by a technician. After this functional check, I will give you the floor in due course. As soon as I've given you the floor, you will be connected live with image and sound and can address the AGM, ask your questions or move your motions. Your right to speak and ask questions is not limited in time, in principle. However, in the interest of all participants of the AGM, I would like to ask you not to take up unduly long time. I would like to ask you most sincerely to take ten minutes as a recommended time for contributions.
This is not a formal limitation of your speaking time. I find this very important. It is only a non-binding request. I reserve the right to set an appropriate time frame for the entire AGM or for individual questions or contributions if this should become necessary. Even if there are a great number of requests for the floor, the agenda should be dealt with within a reasonable time. There may be certain delays in the streaming of the AGM. We want to make sure that speakers do not miss any part of the meeting while being onboarded. We intend to adjourn the meeting for about four minutes for each block of speakers. This break is used for preparing the speakers to go live on the meeting.
After each block of requests for the floor and at the latest, after all the contributions have been made, the questions directed to the company will be answered. As soon as all admissible requests for the floor have been granted and all questions have been answered, I shall close the debate and turn to the vote on the various agenda items. Let me first of all call Mr. Markus Kienle, speaking on behalf of SdK, the Association for the Protection of Investors, then Andreas Lang of the German Association of Retail Investors, and then Andreas Thomae of Deka Investment to now enter the virtual lounge. You are called now to join the virtual lounge. Any shareholders or shareholder representatives called will now be invited on a dialogue field to enter the virtual lounge.
You should now acknowledge this dialogue field by a simple mouse click. Ladies and gentlemen, let me now adjourn the meeting as announced for about four minutes so that we can prepare the speakers onboarding. At 11:33, we're going to resume. Ladies and gentlemen, let us now resume the meeting. I would like to ask Mr. Markus Kienle of the Association for the Protection of Investors to now speak. After Mr. Kienle, I shall invite Andreas Lang of the German Association of Retail Investors to the floor and then Andreas Thomae of Deka Investment. Mr. Kienle, go ahead.
Mr. Jetter, Dr. Weimer, ladies and gentlemen of the management, dear shareholders. My name is Markus Kienle. I'm an attorney at Frankfurt, and I'm on the Executive Committee of the Association of Protection of Investors.
Ladies and gentlemen, in a war started by Russia based on fantasies of being a superpower and of omnipotence, and in which peace seems to be very difficult, you have presented excellent results. Dr. Weimer, reported numbers remain reported numbers, and we are fans of reported numbers. Your targets from your Compass 2023 strategy have been achieved one year earlier than planned, and with your first quarter 2023, you have given us a promising start to the year. Apart from the management, we would like to thank the employees. We as shareholders would like to ask you, Dr. Weimer, to relate our thanks to your workforce. I'll focus on the numbers later, but let's now talk about the format of the AGM. Oh, if you'd only rewarded us with good governance as well and had run a physical meeting.
I mean, this wouldn't have cost you so much. After three years of distance AGMs, we would have expected a face-to-face AGM once again, so that you do not make use of these new transitional rules. A virtual AGM which does not offer full interactiveness, it's not a virtual meeting, but a digital meeting really, cannot serve its purpose as a seismograph of sentiment. It does not give you direct feedback as management. There's only passive participation. A lively debate also takes the continuous and permanent presence of shareholders as the most important actors of an AGM. If you only give an active status for a short time, this is not really the same thing. We're just lookers-on as shareholders who are connected whenever there is a need, and the AGM is just management TV.
One of the arguments in favor of a virtual AGM is cost, but this is not really convincing. A virtual AGM which is not completely interactive is compared to a real annual general meeting. If we compared the cost of a fully interactive virtual meeting, the difference in cost wouldn't be that high, as is pointed about. Even the cost would not really give reasons for avoiding a face-to-face meeting, considering the remaining cost of the company. It's also expression of good corporate governance if the management meets in person with shareholders at least once a year, not keeping them at a distance. The sustainability as an argument, because there's not so much traveling, doesn't really mean so much. I mean, you could use this as a wet blanket against nearly any personal meeting if it takes any traveling.
Despite the fact that sustainable means of transport can be used, the resolutions of an AGM are no less important than other meetings for which you think that personal meetings are necessary. According to the studies we've received, a higher attendance was not reached in 2020-2022, at least not statistically significant. The different time zones in which shareholders are living would only lead to a limited increase. I was quite amazed at your record presence. Broader groups of shareholders were involved by allowing electronic participation, a hybrid AGM, which would be possible according to the statute. We think a hybrid AGM will be a format for the future because this can accommodate the different preferences of shareholders.
Running this year's AGM as a virtual meeting is not quite sufficient for us to refuse to ratify the acts of the management board and the supervisory board. Could you tell us why you decided against a physical meeting? What would have been the cost of a physical meeting compared to this meeting? Deciding in favor of a virtual AGM, was this unanimously decided both on the management board and the supervisory board? If not, what was the % of approval? Please tell us how many shareholders are participating from overseas, what their share in the share capital is, and what the variation is over the meeting. Introducing a clause on the articles that allows for a virtual meeting will not be agreed by us.
We would like to limit virtual meetings to crisis and emergency situations. We don't see a situation like this only in exogenous circumstances, if there is a government order, if there is a ban on meetings or considerable limitation on the number of participants. Even in these crisis situation, we see certain requirements for securing shareholders' rights. This should also be made more specific in your articles because the statutory requirements are only a minimum. We feel that this is clearly not enough in order to have anything like a comparability of a physical meeting and a virtual meeting. First of all, the whole meeting needs to be interactive. We also feel it's necessary that the resolutions of a virtual meeting should be limited to the absolute, absolutely necessary. Structural measures should not be part of this.
We feel there should be a way that questions should either be submitted in advance or asked at the meeting, because this would streamline the meeting, make it more effective. Create more room for discussion. The documentation of questions is also desirable if questions are submitted in advance because we are quite clear then who asked what and what the answers were. We don't have the need anymore to take notes of the answers, which is often not quite possible, especially when a lot of numbers are part of the answer. Questions can also be used as advancing the speech and the discussion. Questions must always be possible. Another issue is a limitation of the right to challenge the meeting if there are technical problems. The culpability needs to be tightened so that companies cannot simply make reference to an AGM service provider.
It's not acceptable that the right to challenge is limited or canceled. As we see the need for virtual meetings only in a crisis or an emergency situation, we would support this because then you don't have a choice. We're also not against an unlimited inclusion in the articles because it would only be used in an emergency. What should the content be or the organization of a virtual meeting in future? Why are you not making use of tightening the culpability requirement, and why are you not organizing a fully interactive meeting? Your Compass 2023 was implemented before plan. I'd like to congratulate you on this. Dr. Weimer, you pointed out what comes after Compass 2023, Horizon 2026, and you've told us a bit about the content.
Could you also say something about the targets in terms of numbers and earnings, or should we really have to wait until the autumn of 2023? The IT strategy 2023+ was not achieved in 2022 before plan. What is still missing in your IT strategy? Despite the high inflation, you were able to increase gross margins. What were the reasons for this increase? Despite the considerable growth of EBITDA and income, and despite the improved gross margin, you have a decrease in the return on equity by 2% to 17%. It's still considerable. Why was there this decrease, and within what range do you expect that you have an appropriate return on equity? You're quite proud, and rightly so, that you were able to increase your income.
Your recurring income, what do you classify as recurring, and what share of recurring income do you target? The growth, the revenues, the EBIT and EBT would be as provided in your budget. In the current year and in the fourth quarter, the policy of the U.S. Central Bank and of the ECB was helpful. There are concerns about recession in Germany, and there is indebtedness of the states as if there was no tomorrow. Do you expect that this change in interest rates will last, or do you expect a return to lower interest rates? Were you able to pass on the cost to your customers? One of your growth drivers are the so-called ESG income.
As there is the EU Taxonomy, which says that Deutsche Börse has no ESG income according to their taxonomy, you have created your own terminology. Could you explain why Deutsche Börse has no ESG income according to EU Taxonomy? What income is ESG according to your own definition? Within what range of ESG, with what products and services do you expect the highest growth momentum? Could there be liability issues for Deutsche Börse if ESG is defined differently in your products and services than according to the EU rules? This came up after the greenwashing scandal of DWS. For the identified fields of growth and services, you acquired the Kneip Communication S.A. with a share of 83.5% of the purchase price. This was the goodwill. How high was their revenue and income? What multiples did you pay on revenue, EBIT, and earnings?
What EBT did Kneip achieve in 2022? Since 2017, you have been involved in an investigation on Cum-Ex trades. What is the status now? Have there been any sanctions against employees of your company who are supposed to have been involved in these transactions? What can you do as an infrastructure provider to detect trades like this and prevent them? What member had any conflicting interests on Cum-Ex? There is the law on the supply chain in Germany. What are your obligations as an infrastructure provider when you think of the customers of Deutsche Börse AG? Dr. Weimer, we would like to thank you for your achievement in the past financial year. We wish you every success for the coming year and also the necessary bit of luck.
Thank you for listening. Thank you very much for your remarks, Mr. Kienle. I now call Andreas Lang from DSW. The floor is yours.
Thank you. Chairman, Ladies and gentlemen, let me first of all introduce myself. My name is Andreas Lang. I'm an attorney in Frankfurt, and today I speak as a representative of DSW, the German Association of Retail Investors, the biggest and oldest association of retail investors in Germany. Ladies and gentlemen, after the pandemic, it made sense that the AGM was only be able to be held virtually. With the pandemic over, and with our lives having gone back to normal, Deutsche Börse has failed to follow up on that with respect to the AGM. Deutsche Börse has not gone back to business as usual. It sticks to the purely virtual format, even after the pandemic has been declared over. Beyond that, infections do not seem to constitute an obstacle for a face-to-face meeting.
In addition to that, today, we are asked to resolve on an amendment of the articles of association that is to be in place until the year 2024 is resolved on in the subsequent AGM, an authorization to hold virtual AGMs until then. I understand that especially with respect to future potential pandemics and authorization, it might be needed to avoid liability risks, among other things, in real emergencies, that is. DSW is not going to vote yes on that. We reject virtual AGMs whenever the articles don't provide for a situation where a control or domination agreement, structural reasons, that is delistings, squeeze outs, et cetera. For those points, we insist that on face-to-face meetings to resolve on them. It is unclear what the conditions are for you to choose one format over the other.
You are saying that for future AGMs, decisions will be taken separately, taking into account the conditions in the individual cases and the interests of the company and the shareholders, saying that those will be the basis for the decision on the format. I'd be interested in the specific conditions and the specific cases that you see warranting a purely virtual format. What are the cases where it's in the interest of the company to hold a virtual AGM? When will the interests of the shareholder be making the case for a virtual format? We've often heard the argument about better attendance in virtual AGMs, and in my view, this cannot really apply. I looked at attendance levels of the past few years, in fact. The last face-to-face AGM saw an attendance rate of 75%.
In the first year of the pandemic, attendance has gone up by 1%, 76% in total, but it was only 74% in the second year of the pandemic, and down to 69% last year. You are talking about a record level, but today we only have 3% higher attendance over 2019. The argument that a virtual format offers better communication as well with the shareholders, that doesn't seem to apply. The average attendance ratio or rate does not seem to show any difference. I'd like to know what your future arguments are going to be when specifically selecting the appropriate format for the AGM. What are you going to see as relevant? When weighing the interests of the company, will you give them precedence over the interest of the shareholders? Let me point out one other thing.
Tomorrow is one day where seven AGMs will take place. Five will have a virtual format. Five AGMs at the same time, on the same day. During face-to-face times, they would have taken place in Frankfurt, but not really in parallel because we don't have sufficient number of venues for face-to-face AGMs. In actual fact, virtual AGMs lead to fewer participants, fewer shareholders able to participate, and as a consequence, lower transparency. That's the virtual reality. Our company, as market operator, is something from whom I'd have wished more and better market participants opportunities. My additional questions are, can you rule out that in the virtual format, the right to speak will be reduced? Can you exclude that a virtual format will also be used to decide on structural measures concerning the company?
What is the format, virtual or hybrid, that investors used and investor talks were based on which platforms or formats last year? Has anything changed in the first quarter of this year? Could you give us a percentage of the formats there? DSW is in favor of hybrid annual general meetings. That's also in line with what most shareholders wish. I'd like to specifically to hear from you why you were against the hybrid format, which would not need such a substantial change in our articles. Fiscal year 2022 now. It was a successful year for our company. In the past fiscal year, the income and EBITDA levels were raised by 24% to EUR 4.34 billion and EUR 2.53 billion respectively. As a consequence, the Compass 2023 midterm targets were fulfilled a year earlier.
When looking at the first quarter of this year, there's also been an increase of net income by 16% to EUR 1.23 billion and an increase of the EBITDA of 12% to EUR 772 million. In your report, you're saying that a large portion of our growth last year was down to cyclical reasons and increasing interest rates, key interest rates, higher price fluctuations, and trading fluctuations. In your report, structural cyclical growth and growth from acquisitions are distinguished. Could you give us the same breakdown for the earnings of our company in the first quarter of 2023? In your report, you're also explaining four business segments. I'd like to hear about the share of the four business segments for the past fiscal year.
You are saying that Data & Analytics, Trading & Clearing, and Fund Services account for the most important structural drivers, structural growth drivers. I couldn't see any more detailed breakdown than that from your report. You're also explaining that fiscal 2022 was a year especially marked by the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and its economic follow-on effects. In that context, you are reporting on an increased share market volatility and a significant increase of trading activities of market participants. Am I right in thinking that the Russian war of aggression has entailed positive effects for our company?
I'd be interested in hearing whether the effect that you have identified from the war of aggression, the effects on our financial performance can be isolated, and could you present to us what the fiscal year would have been like without the war and what would the financial performance and the financial results have been without the other effects, financial effects? The core pillar of your strategy you explained will be structural growth plus acquisitions where they make strategic and financial sense. I'd be interested in how you quantify the share of cyclical and structural growth components, how you forecast it, that is, for the current fiscal year, and what the factor is that you project for the structural growth. In April this year, you announced that you would acquire or would want to acquire the Danish company SimCorp.
To what extent do you see synergies, and what will the impact be on the earnings of the current fiscal year? A few words on ESG. I'd like to know what the impact of the ESG rules of banks have for your financing projections. Does Deutsche Börse fulfill the requirements of sustainability funds to be included there? On risk, I'd like to know whether and how often our company was the target of cyberattacks. What sensitive areas were affected? What was the damage that the company incurred? What are the measures that you have taken to prevent such attacks in the future? The planned takeover of SimCorp, is that related to the defense against cyberattacks? Ladies and gentlemen, to conclude my remarks, I'd like to thank the management of the company for a very good fiscal year.
The projects you presented today, Dr. Weimer, make us optimistic when it comes to the future of our company. We owe a particular debt of gratitude to the employees of the company. With their commitments, they made this success possible. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for listening. Thank you.
Thank you very much for your remarks and comments, Mr. Lang. Let me now call Mr. Thomae from Deka Investment. Mr. Thomae.
Thank you very much, Mr. Jetter. Ladies and gentlemen, members of the executive board and supervisory board, shareholders, my name is Andreas Thomae. I represent Deka Investment, one of the largest fund companies in Germany, subsidiary of DekaBank, the securities bank of the Sparkassen, the savings bank sector. 2.2 million shares are what we represent, 1.2% of the share capital. Ladies and gentlemen, with the performance of Deutsche Börse last year, we shareholders can be happy.
It was a difficult year with the war of aggression of Russia against Ukraine and the energy crisis this triggered on the one hand and rising inflation and supply bottlenecks on the other. The business model of Deutsche Börse has proved resilient and successful in this phase as well. Increasing income, 24% higher, wasn't only from cyclical elements but also from the rising structural income. Acquisitions only accounted for a relatively small share. The strategic goals for 2023 were fulfilled one year earlier than anticipated. That is a major success, and we'd like to thank you for it. The first quarter has also started with positive results. When it comes to the outlook, you raised it to the upper end of the bar. We shareholders are happy about a higher dividend, from EUR 3.20 to EUR 3.60 for the past fiscal year.
Deutsche Börse benefited in 2022 from the one-time high of volatility and volatility gains, also rising interest rates. Interest rate income for Clearstream skyrocketed. That is why we wanted to know this. The cyclical income of Deutsche Börse, how do you expect them to develop in the future? The structural trends towards more trading on exchange platforms, passive assets, the data business, especially ESG, and the outsourcing of the buy side and investment management should continue to buoy your growth. What is the income growth that you're expecting when it comes to structural income for this year? In that context, a major acquisition was announced. You want to acquire SimCorp, a software company for middle and back office solutions in a good position, active in investment management business.
You had to offer a high price and had accepted a high multiple when it comes to the valuation, we will see whether that will pay. Dr. Theodor Weimer, Gregor Pottmeyer, what synergies and growth do you expect from SimCorp for that consideration to be warranted? How does SimCorp fit in with the strategy and the newest segment Investment Management Solutions? What's the planned return on capital employed after three years? How high will the indebtedness rise when it comes to net debt over EBITDA? Will that have an impact on your rating? What impact will the SimCorp acquisition have on the EBITDA margin of the group? At the same time, your ESG data vendor ISS and the index analytics business Qontigo are to be combined. Please continue to give us transparency and show us ISS in terms of what it contributes separately from Qontigo.
What are the synergies that you are achieving? In the medium term do you plan more acquisitions in Investment Management Solutions? What role will General Atlantic play in the future financing as a minority shareholder? Ladies and gentlemen, part of the growth of Deutsche Börse is based on acquisitions. Interest rates have clearly increased over the past 18 months, and that has an impact on Deutsche Börse. We'd like to know how high is the call for ROCE on acquisitions. Are acquisitions cheaper than two years ago? Unfortunately, rising interest rates don't only have light, but shade as well, and that's inflation. How do you deal with inflation? Will increasing automation mean that you will have a grip on cost? What about your strategic partnership with Google Cloud? What are the practical details of the partnership and the financial impact for Deutsche Börse?
Are you using artificial intelligence in your business processes, and if so, where? When will you be using the advantages of blockchain to a larger extent? More recently, IT had to face more and more cyberattacks. As an infrastructure company, you are particularly at risk. In 2022 were there more attacks with Deutsche Börse as a target, and how well protected is Deutsche Börse against hacker attacks? There hasn't only been light, but shade as well generally. In 2022, Linde left the DAX, delisted and is listed in the U.S. only. The capitalization of Germany as a financial center was weakened as a consequence. What can you do and will you do to prevent such cases in the future? As for analytics, it was rather disappointing in 2022. What were the reasons?
Dr. Thomas Book, when it comes to EEX, the commodities and electricity exchange, there was quite strong growth overall. It was only electricity exchange that stagnated. What were the reasons? Does the electricity price gap lead to continued subdued hedging activities in this area? As for crypto assets, it was in 2021 that you acquired Crypto Finance in Switzerland, and you positioned yourself accordingly. What are your specific plans in tokenization digital assets, and what's the role of Crypto Finance in that? Brexit has been completed, but the full impact hasn't come about fully and hasn't been projected fully. To give markets comfort, the equivalence agreement in the field of clearing was extended until mid-2025 between the European Commission and Britain. What would happen from your perspective if it wasn't extended? Because of the uncertainty, will there be stronger or stricter capital adequacy rules in the clearing business?
When it comes to euro OTC clearing, have you been able to win market share in the meantime? Dr. Leithner, the segment fund services or Clearstream Fund Centre, as it's called now, is seen as a strong growth area, even though in 2022, because of the exchange situation, it was a difficult year. Do you plan for more organic growth, or do you plan further acquisitions, as Kneip more recently? What's your position in the competitive environment? What are the advantages that the establishment of Clearstream Fund Centre S.A. offers you with respect to institutional fund investors? As for Clearstream, there's been an open case of litigation with the Bank Markazi. Peterson II has a specific case. Could you give us some insight into the current status?
BaFin, the German supervisor, carried out a special investigation in August 2022, found that there are deficiencies in Clearstream Banking when it comes to business or the business organization. You responded to those findings. Have all measures to mitigate and solve the findings been implemented? Let me turn to ESG now. This is where Deutsche Börse has a social responsibility that it has to do justice to. You, as representatives of Deutsche Börse, you're a member of various bodies ensure transparency and make available a platform for dialogue. In your own company, ESG is firmly anchored in all segments. 8% of your revenue is accounted for by ESG products today. How strong do you think the growth will be with ESG products in the next few years? 30% was the increase over the last few years.
As a market infrastructure company, you play a special role when it comes to the sustainable transformation of the economy. How do you make your influence felt, your influence on companies to accelerate transformation? Do you require stricter standards for ESG standards in listing listed companies? What about employee satisfaction? It's generally high, but last year it went down a little, and at the same time, staff turnover has increased. What are the reasons in your view? Stability and proactive action is key for Deutsche Börse. You, Dr. Weimer, have contributed strongly to this the past few years. At the end of 2024, your contract will expire, what about the successor planning for the CEO position? Let me now turn to our votes.
With the exception on the point on virtual AGMs, that's Item five, and Item one, which is not for the vote, we vote in favor. Authorizing virtual AGMs for a longer period than one year is something we cannot agree to and will not agree to. This format will need significant improvements when it comes to implementation. We're in favor of a hybrid for-format. Shareholders should decide by themselves whether they want to participate face-to-face or virtually. As for the executive board and supervisory board and all employees of Deutsche Börse AG, we wish you every success in the continued implementation of your strategy. Thank you.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you, Mr. Kienle, Mr. Lang, Mr. Thomae for your remarks. You raised a number of questions for the company. The answers will be given according to subject areas by the respective executive board members.
I will answer any question directed to the Supervisory Board. The Executive Board will agree on who will answer and will, of course, follow the rules and the law. To start answering, I'd like to ask Dr. Weimer to answer the questions that were addressed to you.
Thank you. Dr. Kienle, first of all. First of all, thank you very much for your kind words as well, and for your words of praise when it comes to our work in the past fiscal year. You asked about the strategy Horizon 2026 and the goals related to that. My answer is Horizon 2026 is the result of the current strategy process that an exercise that we do every three years in consultation with the Supervisory Board will include all segments. The technology, the corporate strategy, of course, will be part of that exercise as well.
We will include everything and, of course, the current developments as well with SimCorp and the segment Investment Management Solutions. It will focus on that as well. All the rest will be published on an Investor Day in autumn. You asked a question about the strongest growth signals when it comes to ESG products and services for the next few years. Mr. Kienle, my answer is the future growth of our ESG net revenue is something that's mainly driven by the market demand. Depending on the product group, it will be influenced by investor interest and also by regulatory requirements. A lot depends on external developments. We see the biggest opportunities in ESG ratings and advisory, so that's essentially ISS, our subsidiary. Second, the relationship with the link to the index business, Qontigo.
Thirdly, the trade in renewables through the EEX. The Leipzig-based power exchange. You also asked, Mr. Kienle, to what extent Deutsche Börse might face liability questions or issues when ESG products are classified differently from the applicable regulations. Our answer is that we proceed with great care to ensure that Deutsche Börse always acts in line with all legal and regulatory requirements, especially we observe very closely the dynamic regulatory environment to minimize any liability risk. What we call ESG net income last year, and what we report externally, is also audited by PwC, our auditor, with sufficient degree of certainty. Mr. Kienle, you also asked about the current status of Cum-Ex investigations.
In September 2017, Clearstream Banking AG had knowledge, first, that the Cologne prosecutor started investigations based on alleged involvement of one or several employees when it comes to Cum-Ex transactions carried out by a market participant. In 2019 and 2020, but also 2021 and 2022, Deutsche Börse Group companies obtained knowledge that the Cologne prosecutor had expanded those, the number of those against whom investigations were ongoing when it comes to employees of Group companies. Because of the early status of the legal process, we are not able to give you information about specific timelines and extent and that also includes government or public authority decisions. We fully cooperate with the authorities. We don't expect that the judgment will lead to a situation where we will be held liable.
Mr. Kienle, you're also asking whether in the context of the Cum-Ex investigations against group companies, sanctions were incurred by any employee. Let me first of all point out that the investigations are still at an early stage. It is not possible to give you any information on time and content of future decisions to be taken by authorities. From our company point of view, there haven't been any sanctions against any employees. Mr. Kienle, you're also asking about the Cum-Ex investigations, what Deutsche Börse can do as an infrastructure provider to prevent any such criminal activity detected and prevent it. We're in a close exchange with several exchange supervisors on this. Internally, a number of projects and initiatives have been launched based on the previous insights. Appropriate controls are to be introduced to the extent that is possible.
Mr. Lang, you asked a question about the synergies from SimCorp and the impact on the current fiscal year. We expect synergies of about EUR 90 million per year once it's fully operational in the new segment Investment Management Solutions, which includes ISS and Qontigo as well or will. In the course of the transaction, we expect in the Q4 of 2023, the full completion will happen and the impact on the current fiscal year will be limited accordingly. The expected one-time cost to achieve the synergies in amount of about EUR 100 million will be accounted for in the first year after the closing of the transaction. Thank you, Mr. Lang, on the question concerning ESG requirements and investment requirements that Deutsche Börse can meet. Let me give you the following answer, if I may.
If I understood you correctly, the first part of your question basically means whether ESG could impose a financial burden on companies as a result of Deutsche Börse requirements. The answer here is simply no. The second part of your question has to do with ESG requirements for Deutsche Börse Group itself. As a CEO division, a separate department that develops the sustainability strategy of Deutsche Börse Group and implements that. In terms of the ESG ratings, Deutsche Börse is doing extremely well, also compared to the benchmarks. Mr. Lang, you asked about the SimCorp acquisition and whether that was related to fending off cyberattacks. Here, the answer is no. Mr. Thomae, you asked about the future role of General Atlantic.
As communicated in late April, as part of the Qontigo ISS combination, GA is going to invest again to remain the sole co-shareholder with a 20% investment. In the past, GA has been an excellent partner in the development of Clear Qontigo.
They have a lot of expertise when it comes to growing companies and developing global networks, we're going to build on that in the future. Mr. Thomae, there was a question concerning synergies generated by the combination of Qontigo and ISS in the Investment Management Solutions segment. As part of this combination and the acquisition of SimCorp, we expect synergies of around EUR 90 million by 2026. They break down to revenue and cost synergies. The precise breakdown depends on various factors, one of them being the acceptance ratio in the tendering process. With that, I'd like to hand back to the chairman. Thank you, Dr. Weimer. We'll have more answers later on. Those were 11 answers, and next, I'm going to take some questions addressed to the Supervisory Board. Mr. Kienle, you asked why we are conducting a virtual AGM today.
The Executive Board and the Supervisory Board have looked at all the opportunities afforded to us when it comes conducting AGMs, including the pros and cons. We opted for a virtual AGM, bearing in mind the interests of the company and the interests of our shareholders. This was based on new regulatory requirements concerning virtual AGMs. This is very similar to face-to-face meetings. Shareholders' rights are being protected. It enables a direct interchange with our national and, in particular, our international shareholders, no matter where they are located. Especially for Deutsche Börse AG, with its international shareholder base, this is extremely important. Over 80% of shareholders, like I said, are based outside Germany. We also had some positive experiences with virtual AGMs over the past few years, in fact. In fact, Deutsche Börse AG has gone beyond the statutory requirements.
We like to enable a direct dialog with our global shareholders and investors. Last but not least, there are also sustainability reasons, and the efforts and the costs involved. Those are also important and have been important reasons for this decision. Mr. Kienle, you asked about the costs on today's AGM and the additional costs for a face-to-face meeting. A face-to-face meeting would have incurred additional costs for catering services, for security services, and for the rent. The additional costs for a face-to-face meeting based on past experience are approximately one-third above the costs of a virtual AGM. Mr. Kienle, you also asked about the decision to hold a virtual AGM in the boards. We decided to have this virtual AGM in 2023. This decision was taken by the Executive Board unanimously. The Supervisory Board took another unanimous decision.
Mr. Kienle, another question concerning the number of shareholders participating at today's AGM. We want to be transparent for all stakeholders, therefore we decided to webcast the AGM not just for our shareholders, but publicly on the Internet. In fact, this decision was supported by our shareholders. So far, a total of 631 participants have registered in our online service and in the public realm of the Internet. Last year, during the entire AGM, there were a total of 386 participants, of which between 20% and 25% were based abroad. Mr. Kienle, you asked about virtual AGMs and their content. Any virtual AGMs will be very comparable to this year's virtual AGM. When it comes to submitting questions before the AGM, we do not want to do that.
We'd like to have a general debate as we do in face-to-face meetings. We are not going to curtail the right to ask questions during the AGM. For any future AGM, we're going to decide on a case-by-case basis whether we are going to use the authorization to conduct the AGM as a virtual AGM. When it comes to taking that decision, we're also going to rely on the experience from previous AGM, including this one going forward. Mr. Kienle, you also asked about the technical setup of the AGM and why we didn't tighten the liability requirements. Mr. Kienle, this AGM was prepared with due care, including the technical preparations. We want to ensure the smooth running of this AGM. Any legal requirements are based on what the legislator has stipulated in this regard.
Mr. Kienle, you asked why this is not a fully interactive, virtual AGM. Mr. Kienle, like I said, shareholder rights are very similar at this AGM to a face-to-face meeting. Like with a face-to-face meeting, you can use the online service to submit requests for the floor, and you can talk to us live. We can hear you, we can see you. You can criticize us, you can make positive statements, you can submit motions, you can ask questions. We are going to answer any of your questions. There is a direct dialogue, and I'd like to emphasize that this direct interaction is very important to us. When it comes to possible future virtual AGMs, like I said, we're going to rely on the experience gained in previous years.
Mr. Kienle, you also asked about a potential conflict of interests in the field of Cum-Ex. Any business relationship can cause a conflict of interest, irrespective of what we're dealing with or what we're talking about. There are rules and recommendations in the Stock Corporation Act and also in the German Corporate Governance Act. It's important to identify and to disclose any conflicts of interest and to handle them professionally. Deutsche Börse has the necessary policies and rules in place, and they're also respected in this particular case that you mentioned. Any discussions in the supervisory board were not at all hampered by a conflict of interest of individual supervisory board members. I'm sure you will understand that our deliberations remain confident, and we do not want to violate the privacy rights of individual supervisory board members.
Therefore, you will understand that we can't give you any more details in this regard. Mr. Lang, you asked in what situation it would be in the interest of the company or shareholders to have a virtual AGM. With a virtual AGM, we make it possible for national and international investors to take part in the AGM, no matter where they are located. Around 80%, approximately 80%, like I said before, are international shareholders of Deutsche Börse AG, and it is in our interest to make sure that the attendance count is as high as possible. It should also be in the interest of shareholders, actually. Mr. Lang, next question. You asked about the arguments that we're going to use to decide about the format of any future AGMs.
Well, like I said, we're going to make this decision on a case-by-case basis. In doing so, we're going to bear in mind the interests of the company and its shareholders when it comes to conducting a virtual or a face-to-face meeting. This decision will be based on any experience gained in previous years, health protection concerns, sustainability concerns, and the costs involved. Those are gonna be the criteria. Mr. Lang, you also asked whether the whether we're going to limit the right to ask questions at AGM. Now, like it says in the notice of meeting, and like I said before, future virtual AGMs will be very similar to face-to-face AGMs. I'm saying very similar, rather similar to, because technology is going to improve and we want to make use of future technological advancements.
We do not want and expect shareholders to submit questions in advance. Rather, we prefer a live debate like today. Once more, I'd like to emphasize that it's important for us to have a direct dialogue with our shareholders, and I'm sure that this is what we're going to do in the future. Mr. Lang, you also asked why we're not using a hybrid format. Well, we looked at the existing possibilities and their respective pros and cons. There are also some technical risks involved, especially in hybrid events, because you would have two different formats, and you have to fulfill the technical and the legal requirements. Therefore, a hybrid format would be extremely complex, a lot more risky and prone to error, prone to mistakes and glitches.
I think this is also one of the reasons why no one, almost no one, is using hybrid formats. As far as we know, no DAX company has opted for a hybrid AGM this year. Mr. Thomae, you asked about the succession planning for Dr. Weimer. Dr. Weimer's contract ends in 2024, late 2024. When it comes to his successor in Deutsche Börse's executive board, the supervisory board and the nomination committee will address this issue in due course.
Okay. I think that was the end of the list of questions addressed to me, and I'd like to hand over to Gregor Pottmeyer. Gregor Pottmeyer, you have the floor.
Thank you, Mr. Jetter. Mr. Kienle, you asked about the increase in gross margin despite high inflation. In fiscal 2022, Deutsche Börse generated around EUR 390 million in an additional NII. Costs were very low, and this had a very good impact on gross margin as a result. Next question, Mr. Kienle. Why was the equity ratio lowered? Why did it decrease? Actually it increased by 1% to 17.64% according to our calculations. This is due to an increase in profits of 24%, while equity rose by only 18%. Mr. Kienle, next question, the bandwidth for the equity ratio, what would be appropriate here? The equity ratio is not a KPI for managing Deutsche Börse Group, and it never was.
The reason is that this KPI very much depends on the re-relationship between organic and unplannable inorganic growth. For this reason, we are not going to use the equity ratio as a KPI going forward. Mr. Kienle, you asked about the share of recurring revenue that we want to have. Currently, this percentage stands at around 60%. We do not want to disclose any further details on this particular KPI. We do expect that recurring revenues are going to grow continuously, mainly driven by growth in Data & Analytics and the new segment Investment Management Solutions, respectively. Next question, Mr. Kienle. Which revenues are considered as recurring revenues by Deutsche Börse? Revenues are considered to be recurring if they are not related to day-to-day fluctuations, if they are predictable. This includes, in particular, licenses, especially in the Data & Analytics segment.
There's securities and fund services. The custody business, that is also part of our recurring revenue. In Trading & Clearing, participant fees and fees for securities are also classified as recurring revenue. Next question, Mr. Kienle. Revenue, EBIT and EBT of the year 2022. What if the cyclical growth would have been as it was in our plans? Net revenue would have gone up by 10%, EBIT plus 9% and EBT around plus 9%. Next, Mr. Kienle, your question concerning the sustainability of the reversal in interest rates. The interest environment has clearly normalized since last year. There will be interest cuts, but in the long term, we expect that interests will be much higher than they were over the past 10 years.
Mr. Kienle, you asked about any cost increases, whether we could pass them on to our clients. We review our pricing models on a regular basis. Sometimes we adapt prices, sometimes it allows us to offset any inflation effects. Mr. Kienle, you asked why Deutsche Börse doesn't have any ESG revenue within the meaning of the EU taxonomy. Deutsche Börse's main activity is not part of the delegates directive of the European Union. Deutsche Börse doesn't generate any revenue in the categories as defined by the EU taxonomy. Mr. Kienle, you ask how we define ESG revenue. Well, you can find that information on pages 39 and 40 in detail in our annual report. The most important elements include ESG revenues of ISS and the trading revenues of EEX connected to sustainable commodity markets.
With that, thank you very much, Mr. Kienle for your questions on KPIs. Moving on to Kneip. In 2020, revenues were EUR 28.4 million. EBIT was minus EUR 17.1 million and EBT minus EUR 17.2 million. In 2021, Kneip had revenues of EUR 24.8 million. EBIT was minus EUR 0.6 million and EBT stood at minus EUR 0.9 million. Mr. Kienle, moving on to transaction multipliers concerning Kneip. The purchase price for Kneip was EUR 188.7 million. The multiplier is 8x for revenue. The EBIT contribution of Kneip is currently slightly negative. The Kneip acquisition has enabled us to realize significant synergies in fund services, and we expect Kneip to generate a positive contribution in the years to come. Next question, Mr. Kienle. A question also concerning Kneip.
The full consolidation of Kneip led to an increase of net revenue of a certain million range and a decrease in post-tax profit of EUR 400 million. Moving on to your question, Mr. Lang, concerning the form, format of the conversations we have with institutional investors. The format of the talks we have with institutional investors has changed very much as part of the pandemic. In the last financial year, in Q12023, around two-thirds of conversations were done virtually in an online format. Mr. Lang, you asked about secular and uncyclical growth in Q12023. In the first quarter, Deutsche Börse net revenues went up by 16%, of which 9% was structural growth, secular growth, and 7% was secular growth, and the remaining percentage was cyclical.
Lang asked about the impact of the Russian war of aggression, against Ukraine, the impact on our business. We cannot isolate this effect because there are many other influence factors. Originally, we expected an increase in 10% in net revenue in 2022. Because of the cyclical development, they rose actually by as much as 24%. This was a result of the higher market volatility, the increase in inflation, and the increase in interest rates. Next question, Mr. Lang. Also about cyclical and secular factors in the current year, in the ongoing year, and secular growth going forward. For the current year, we expect between EUR 4.5 billion and EUR 4.7 billion. Should there be strong cyclical tailwind, like in Q1 of this year, this figure may even be slightly higher.
The majority of the growth, however, is driven by secular growth, whereas the previous figure I mentioned was cyclical. Concerning your question on secular revenue, 2022 was a record year, but still, we expect cyclical revenue to increase moderately in the years to come. This is because there's a new era of interest rate policies out there. This will have a positive effect on NII and volatility across most asset classes. Moving on to your question concerning the secular revenue for this year. As far as secular revenue is concerned, as part of our forecast for 2023, we expect between 5%-7% growth. In Q1, we achieved the upper end of that range. Next, Mr. Thomae, the impact on net debt to EBITDA and the impact on our rating.
With an acceptance ratio of 100%, net debt to EBITDA by 2023 will go up to about 2.3. Standard and Poor's expect that Deutsche Börse's rating in this case will go down to AA-. The AA rating of Clearstream will not be affected by that. Next, Mr. Thomae. You asked about the return on capital employed and whether today it's cheaper to buy companies than it was two years ago. Well, since the increase in interest rates, the expected ROCE of around 6% has risen to around 8%. Many valuations, especially of growth-driven companies, have put into context just recently, including high-quality companies with a strong market position. This decrease in prices, however, is partly compensated by an increase in financing costs. Mr. Thomae, next, your question concerning the inflation effects.
Yes Mr. Thomae, we believe that we have inflation under control. We're improving our operational efficiency constantly by using automation and artificial intelligence. Since the last financial year, any inflationary effects could be compensated partly by adapting our prices. Additional economies of scale play an important role in this context, and we can achieve those economies by, among others, working with Google Cloud. Back to you, Mr. Jetta.
Thank you, Gregor Pottmeyer. Ms. Eckert has the floor. There were some questions addressed to Ms. Eckert .
Thank you and thank you, Mr. Kienle. Deutsche Börse is an infrastructure company. What obligations does it have as part of the new Supply Chain Act, LkSG? Since the 1st of January this year, Deutsche Börse has been affected by this new act, and we've implemented all its requirements. We implemented the risk management system and also a risk analysis as defined by the law to identify any violations of human rights and environmental standards in our direct and indirect suppliers and also in our own operations as defined by the law. The compliance function is the second line of defense. On an ad hoc and an annual basis, it reviews these risk analysis, always bearing in mind the provisions laid down in the Supply Chain Act. Mr. Thomae, you addressed the BaFin criticism leveled against us.
There was an announcement on the BaFin website relating to 2021 audits concerning risk management requirements. Under Section 60 of the German Banking Act, those notifications have to be published. Clearstream Hosting, Eurex Clearing AG, and a third company immediately took risk mitigating measures after the publication. As a result, the internal processes have been strengthened significantly. We also implemented projects to make sure that any weaknesses can be remedied as quickly as possible and fully. Mr. Thomae, you wanted to know why employee satisfaction has gone down and why the attrition rate has increased. Employee satisfaction is still at a very high level. In terms of strategic orientation and the organization and team efficiency and collaboration, the results have been very positive.
In terms of team efficiency and collaboration, there was no change compared to the prior year. In terms of strategic alignment and organizational setup, there was a slight decrease in the results, due to location-specific issues outside of Germany. On your question concerning the attrition rate, the attrition rate in 2022 went up across all locations. This is mainly because in the pandemic years there was a lower attrition rate and there was some pent-up demand, if you like. Thank you, Mr. Jetter. Back to you.
Thank you very much, Ms. Eckert . Thanks for your remarks. Dr. Thomas Book will speak next. You have the floor to answer the questions directed to you.
Thank you. Thanks very much, Mr. Jetter. First of all, Mr. Thomae's question. Thank you very much for this question on the capital put up for the clearing business. The equity of our clearing house was at slightly under EUR 750 million in 2022, unchanged. An adaptation in the context of the equivalence agreement with Britain is not planned. The equity of our clearing house, European Commodity Clearing AG, against the background of insecurity in the energy markets and because of growing business volume, it has grown. By year-end 2022, the equity was EUR 218 million, and at the 31st of March, 2023, it's now at EUR 232 million. Mr. Thomae, you asked about the development of market share in euro OTC clearing. The OTC clearing business has also developed positively in 2022.
The average daily volume grew by 27% over the previous year. The outstanding position grew to EUR 227 billion. This is a global market share in euro-denominated OTC interest derivatives. It's about 20%. It's at a constantly good level. Mr. Thomae, you asked about requirements for stricter standards for OTC criteria for listed companies in the future. For the listing of securities in the regulated market at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Deutsche Börse AG does not make any requirements on ESG criteria. We're not planning to make any requirements on this. The requirements for listing in the regulated market always come from the legislator themselves in Germany and are subject to public law. At a European level, we make efforts and suggestions for uniform ESG criteria at a European level.
Mr. Thomae, you asked about the reasons for the development of our offerings in the electricity market in 2022. In 2022, the revenue in our spot markets for electric power have developed slightly positively. The revenues with power derivatives in fact decreased. What is visible in the market, power markets were very much impacted by the European energy crisis, price peaks and high volatility. Against this background, market players reduced their positions and were especially careful about long-term exposures in 2022. There was also the political discussion about possible market interventions and price regulation. This also led to insecurity and further reservation about building new positions. Mr. Thomae, you asked about possible impact of the electric power price cap on hedging. There is the Market Correction Mechanism which introduced a cap for market prices at the wholesale level.
This cap entered into force in February 2023. From our point of view, I would say this is not a suitable measure to limit prices. At the point in time when the cap was introduced, market prices were below this cap. So far this cap has not led to a reduction or transfer of trading activities. At the same time, the European Energy Exchange, along with its market participants, has prepared for the case of reaching the price cap so that open positions can still be managed. In some EU member countries, further measures were adopted to limit power prices for end consumers. These measures refer to price consumers, they're downstream of wholesale trading. So far, there has not been a reduction of trading activities. Should these measures remain, there is a possibility that hedging needs in the market decrease and market participants reduce their market activity.
Mr. Thomae, let me also thank you for your question concerning our plans for the tokenization of digital assets and the role of Crypto Finance in this context. Deutsche Börse has various offers for advancing the digitalization of assets and securities. Crypto Finance contribute with services for institutional investors in trading and depositing of securities. We use the digital post-trading platform, D7. Alternative assets like the digitalization of arts rights or real estate or musical rights are realized by 360X Fintech, in which Deutsche Börse holds an interest. We are creating a comprehensive system for digital securities, digital assets, and crypto assets. Let me now hand back, Mr. Jetter, to you.
Thank you very much, Dr. Book, for your remarks. Let me now ask Dr. Leithner to start with his answers.
Thank you very much, Mr. Jetter. I would like to take up a few questions which Mr. Jetter asked concerning my field of business. First, the use of blockchain technology with the introduction of the digital D7 post-trading platform. We're already using some elements of the blockchain technology. In the digitalization of our offers concerning structured products, for example, we're using so-called smart contracts to model automatic processes. The blockchain technology is still at its beginnings, so vastly we're still relying on time-proven technology. Your next question then related to developments having to do with Linde. Let me first of all point out that we deplore Linde's decision very much, that they put an end to their double listing in the German stock exchange. They mention limiting of the impact and lower regulatory complexity with a single listing.
Qontigo's business has a robust index technology and is highly respected, and they look at the index rules to make them internationally comparable. The upper limit of 10% was, however, confirmed in a consultation in 2022, so any changes were not possible. Mr. Thomae, you then asked about the reasons for the net revenue development in analytics in 2022. The analytics business includes the offer of software for risk analysis and portfolio management within Qontigo. Here we found in 2022, and in general in the environment of competitors, we found longer sales cycles. This includes the renewal of contracts with existing customers. Some of them will only be reflected in 2023. A number of questions then concerning our fund service segment were asked by you. First, organic and inorganic growth plans.
We see ourselves as a leading provider in the fund business, and we map digital parts in the fund business. By the acquisition of Kneip, we now have a unique position in competition, and our customer relationships with asset managers were expanded. New services, both organic or by innovative partnerships, will support our growth plans in future as well. New customer segments and new markets will be opened up. There was a follow-up question concerning the market positioning. As I mentioned, our funds business has become one of the leading vendors. We have a leading position in fund sales. We are the biggest player in the transmission and execution of orders, and also in custody of funds. We offer our customers complete coverage of all asset classes. This also makes us unique concerning stock-listed funds, and also hedge funds and more demanding products.
By adding Kneip, this rounded off our complete offer, putting us certainly at the top of the industry. Finally, your question concerning the benefits of the new bank Clearstream Fund Centre, spinning off part of our fund business in a separate bank, was intended to match the regulatory framework of our customers. With this separate structure, we can adapt in an optimum way to fast-changing industrial conditions and offer a wider product offer to our customers. Thank you very much, Mr. Jetter.
Thank you, Dr. Leithner, for your remarks. Before handing back to Dr. Weimer, I would like to ask Dr. Böhm to ask the questions directed to him. Dr. Böhm, you have the floor.
Thank you. To Mr. Kienle, concerning open issues concerning the IT strategy 2023. In principle, the IT strategy is closely dovetailed with the business strategy of our group.
We focus on technological transformation of Deutsche Börse Group, and we have already made good progress on this path. In 2022, continuous progress and measurable progress is made. Major measures are, among other things, the successful further development of the hybrid multi-cloud strategy, the 10-year innovation partnership with Google Cloud, and the first digital issue based on our D7 platform. In 2023, and for the years after, the IT strategy has pointed out various fields of work and technical transformation. This includes the delivery of major IT projects like the introduction of SAP S/4HANA, the migration of computing power to the cloud, and the further strengthening of cybersecurity. Mr. Lang, you then asked about cyberattacks, sensitive areas, and potential damage that may have occurred. Deutsche Börse Group, like any company, is always exposed to cyberattacks, like any company. In line with this, we adapt our security requirements.
Last year, no sensitive core system of the group was affected by a cyberattack. There was no damage. Concerning your question, Mr. Lang, concerning any questions to prevent any cyberattacks. Deutsche Börse Group like any other company with a digital presence, is exposed to cyberattacks continuously. Over the last few years, we're very much focused on information security and cybersecurity. Methods for the continuous security and protection of our systems were expanded with considerable expenditure. However, concerning individual security measures, we cannot give you any detailed information for reasons of confidentiality, because this could compromise the security. Mr. Thomae, your question concerning hacker attacks in 2022 and the security position of our company in this respect. In our understanding, any company with a digital presence is always exposed to cyberattacks. This was confirmed in 2022. It continued.
Deutsche Börse Group is continuously investing in the continuous improvement of systems and applications. Please bear with us, we will not give any detailed information on these measures. Mr. Thomae, you then asked about the use of artificial intelligence in business processes. This field of technology of artificial intelligence has been analyzed by Deutsche Börse Group for many years in order to recognize and make use of any improvements. We continuously introduce artificial intelligence in the software we use, like Microsoft 365, for example. We use AI, for example, in applications for data import and data processing. In principle, the use is based on a comprehensive risk analysis. Back to you, Mr. Jetter.
Thank you very much, Dr. Böhm, for answering your questions. Let me now turn back to Dr. Weimer and ask him to answer further questions asked to him.
Thank you. I have six more questions to answer. Mr. Lang, you had asked about the growth drivers of our four business fields. Let me answer field by field and begin with Trading & Clearing. It's mainly product innovation in Trading & Clearing of financial derivatives, energy and environmental markets, and positive effects from the development of the current market environment like futurization and also asset and liability side. For the Security Services, it mainly meant the return of positive interest rates, more clearing, and more demand for our custody solutions, and the growing importance of data services. For Fund Services, it's the growth of fund volumes and more demand for fund data and for analytics and this segment of Investment Management Solutions.
The driver is on the buy side, asset management and investor side, the trend towards the spin-off of asset managers and the growing importance of Data & Analytics in ESG. Mr. Thomae, you asked first about synergies and growth within SimCorp to justify the price. Secondly, what the impact of the SimCorp acquisition is on the margin of our group, what synergies we have in Investment Management Solutions. Let me answer as follows. For synergy, we expect EBITDA synergies in a steady state of about EUR 90 million per year in Investment Management Solutions and Qontigo as well. As pointed out today, the expected growth of SimCorp is double-digit. Concerning the EBITDA margin with the acquisition, all things being equal, we expect for the next one to two years, a reduction of EBITDA margin by 2%- 3%.
In the medium term, we, however, expect that we can fully compensate this effect by synergies. The question how SimCorp fits into our strategy. SimCorp closed a gap in our product offering for buy side. We will be able with SimCorp to cover the whole value chain in investment management. This makes us a leading vendor of fully integrated front-to-back solutions for this investment management industry. SimCorp will be the competence center for Software-as-a-Service and Business Processes-as-a-Service. We expect that growth in this extremely attractive target market will clearly be accelerated. Mr. Thomae, you then asked about the consequences of the end of the equivalence agreement with Britain on clearing. This requires a somewhat longer answer. The current equivalence agreement secured the access of EU market players with CCPs based in the U.K.
This equivalence agreement will expire in September 2025, and then access to CCPs resident in the U.K. would no longer be possible. The European Commission has signaled several times that EU market participants should not expect any further extension of this agreement. The remaining time until the equivalence agreement expires in September or summer 2025, so this time should be used by market participants so that existing risk positions are reduced in London. In order to provide for this reduction, there is a legislative proposal of the Commission on the amendment of the European infrastructure regulations.
Market participants, if they have products with significant implications on financial market stability, should have an active account with an EU CCP, so that any risks which at present lie with CCPs in the U.K. should be reduced and transferred to the EU. Deutsche Börse Group, with its partnership program of Eurex Clearing, is in favor of a market-driven solution so that market participants have a safe haven in the EU, but also strengthen competition, helping to reduce the existing risk concentration in London. Despite the regulatory realities, Deutsche Börse Group still expect structural growth of business activities and revenues of Eurex Clearing. Market participants can make use of new efficiencies in various product ranges and can benefit from a wider range of admissible collateral. Mr. Thomae, you then asked about further acquisitions in Investment Management Solutions.
Our answer is this: In the near future, we are going to focus on the successful completion of the announced transaction. We do not expect any further acquisitions, smaller M&A activities that may make sense and will remain part of our strategy as in the past. Finally, let me also thank you for your questions concerning the expected growth with ESG products over the next few years. My answer is along the same lines as my answer concerning a similar question asked by Mr. Kienle. The strong growth in ESG net revenue was partly due to the takeover of ISS and consolidation effects. When looking at the future, I would like to repeat that the development of our net revenues with ESG products depends very much on external developments, and this is why we're not giving a hard forecast on the future growth of our ESG net revenue growth.
For orientation, I can still say 10% of growth per year in ESG and as a target in our management remuneration system. Mr. Thomae, you then asked about our role in the sustainable transformation of the economy. Well, we always need trust for working markets and an economy that has a future. Deutsche Börse provides transparent and reliable infrastructure, infrastructures which provide the security in the markets worldwide. With the development of working markets, we contribute to the growth and prosperity of future generation. It's the purpose of our company to promote trust in the markets of today and tomorrow, especially this applies to the markets which serve the financing of the sustainable transformation of the economy. This takes care of all my questions. Let me hand back to you, Martin.
Thank you very much, Theodor, for your remarks covering the second part of your questions. Let me now ask Dr. Leithner again to answer a few more questions that are still open. Dr. Leithner.
Thank you very much. Especially Mr. Thomae's question should be answered concerning the current status of the litigation in the context of the Iranian Bank Markazi and the Peterson II. Various creditors have claims against Iranian assets which are held within Clearstream Banking. Several of these plaintiffs have damage claims against Clearstream, most recently on March 20th, 2023 in the Peterson II process. Ruled for EUR 2.7 billion for these creditors. There's a complaint against this ruling, the judgment has not yet been executed. There is a claim in Luxembourg claiming for high assets, among others, the assets subject to the Peterson II decision.
This is still pending. There are further cases that are still pending. All these cases will probably take several years. Clearstream does not expect at the moment that in U.S. courts or in Luxembourg courts that any of these claims against it will be successful. What I'd said before was the question concerning the competitive position of the fund business asked by Mr. Thomae. Let me sum this up briefly. Due to the complements that we made recently, we now cover the full range of the supply chain from support for fund sales to the transmission and execution of orders and custody of funds. We feel we are in a very strong market-leading position. This answers the questions asked from me. Let me hand back to you, Mr. Jetter.
Thank you very much, Dr. Leithner, for answering these two questions as well.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, I have not received any further requests for the floor. I would like to thank you very much for your requests for the floor, for your comments, both positive. If there are any further requests for the floor, please raise them now using the Request to speak button on the online service. Please also ask for the question if you feel that any of your questions have not been answered or have not sufficiently been answered. If no further requests for the floor should be received, I'll close the debate. This function on the online service will then be deactivated, and we shall immediately turn to the vote on the individual agenda items. Let me state for the record that all questions have been answered, and there are no more requests for the floor.
I close the general debate on Agenda I tems 1- 8. The online function for submitting requests to speak is now being deactivated. Ladies and gentlemen, let us proceed to the vote. Please note that from now on, submitting or modifying instructions to the two company-appointed proxies will only be possible for a couple of minutes, probably around three minutes from now. After reading out the agenda items, I'll have the relevant function in the online service deactivated. I would therefore ask you to finalize your instructions to the two company-appointed proxies now.
Submitting or modifying postal ballots will only be possible until the end of the vote. The voting result will be determined using the so-called addition procedure, meaning that we're only going to count the yes and no votes. Any abstentions will not be counted separately and will be disregarded. We're now going to vote on Agenda Items 2 through 8. The resolutions proposed under the various agenda items were published in the Federal Gazette, along with the notice of the meeting. They are available for inspection on the company's website. Concerning the resolution proposed under Agenda Item 2, I had already pointed out at the beginning that it had been necessary to amend the number of shares carrying dividend rights. The meeting is going to vote on the amended proposal as published this morning and as available on the company's website.
With your permission, I will take this resolution and all the other proposed resolutions as read. I'll confine myself to calling the individual agenda items as follows: two through eight. Agenda Item 2 concerns the appropriation of unappropriated surplus. Under Agenda Item 3, the meeting is going to vote on the ratification of the acts of all the members of the executive board in one go. Under Agenda Item 4, the meeting is going to vote on the ratification of the acts of all the members of the supervisory board, also in one go. With regard to Agenda Items 3 and 4, I'd like to remind everyone that pursuant to Section 136 of the German Stock Corporation Act, board members are not entitled to vote on the ratification of their own acts.
The members of both boards have submitted the necessary declarations for Agenda Items 3 and 4, respectively. We can thus ensure that the members of the executive board and supervisory board will not take part in the vote on Agenda Items 3 and 4. Under Agenda Item 5, the meeting is going to vote on the amendments to the articles of incorporation relating to annual general meetings. Specifically under Item 5A, a resolution to authorize the executive board on a time-limited basis to conduct virtual AGMs. Under Item 5B, a resolution to allow supervisory board members to attend AGMs online under certain circumstances. Under Item 5C, a resolution on an amendment to the articles of incorporation aimed at clarifying the clause governing the convening of shareholder meetings.
Under Item 7, the meeting is going to vote on an amendment to the articles of incorporation relating to entries into the share register. That was Item 6. Agenda Item 7, vote on the approval of the remuneration report. Last but not least, 8 is a resolution on the election of the auditor, group auditor for the 2023 financial year, as well as the auditor for the review of the condensed financial statements and the interim management report for the first half of the 2023 financial year. Shareholders, as announced before, the online function for submitting or modifying votes or instructions to the two company-appointed proxies will be deactivated now. The two company-appointed proxies are voting on your behalf as we speak and according to your instructions.
The votes cast on your behalf will be entered into the accounting system and processed electronically to determine the result of the vote. I declare the voting process closed. From now on, it will no longer be possible to submit or modify postal ballots either. The online postal ballot function has been deactivated in the online service. Any postal ballot submitted in time will also be entered into the counting system and processed electronically to determine the result of the vote. The votes will now be counted under the supervision of the notary. At the same time, we are going to ensure that all duly submitted votes and instructions have in fact been included in the voting result, irrespective of the channel through which they were submitted. I'll suspend this AGM until the voting results are available. The AGM and the webcast will resume in a few minutes.
Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, the AGM is resumed. For the record, the voting results for Agenda Items 2.
Through eight are as follows: Article 1301 of the Stock Corporation Act allows the chair of the meeting to restrict the announcement of voting results to whether the majority was reached or not to carry the vote, the resolution. I'd like to use that opportunity, and I would assume that the shortened announcement of voting results is also more manageable and in your interest. I haven't seen any motions to the contrary. The full results of the votes will be shown so that you can see them on screen. A comprehensive overview of the results will be available after the AGM on the website of the company. The comprehensive results with the Article 130 information, paragraph two, sentence two, will be shown. I'll ask Dr. Schmidt to annex that to the minutes.
Let me also point out that we will have reached the end of today's AGM, and that I'm going to close the meeting immediately after the voting results have been announced. Up to this point, you'll still have the possibility to lodge objections against the resolutions before the meeting should you deem that necessary. In other words, you will no longer have this possibility once I close the meeting. With that, let me announce the result of the vote. Before I do that, I'd like to give you the updated attendance. Currently, we have 148,908,517 votes or no-par shares represented in the annual general meeting. This is 78.37% of the share capital. In addition, postal ballots from another 596,040 no-par values have been submitted.
For the record, the voting results for Agenda Items 2- 8 are as follows: This AGM has voted on the resolutions proposed by the Executive and Supervisory Boards or under Item 8 by the Supervisory Board only, with the exception of Item 2, as published on the 28th of March, 2023 in the Federal Gazette. As for Item 2, the resolution on the appropriation of the unappropriated surplus was carried with the required majority when it comes to the amended proposal as submitted today. Under Item 3, resolution on the ratification of the acts of the members of the Executive Board, it was carried with the required majority. As for Item 3, the resolution on the ratification of the acts of the members of the Supervisory Board was carried with the required majority.
As for Item 5 A, resolution on amendments with respect to the AGM and the restricted limited authorization for the executive board and the supervisory board. That resolution was carried with the required majority and the majority of the share capital present at the time of the vote. As for Item 5 B, resolution on amendments of the articles with respect to the supervisory to the annual general meeting and the participation of supervisory board members in certain cases, this resolution was carried with the required majority of the votes cast and the majority of the share capital present at the time of the vote. As for Item 5 C, resolution on amendment of the articles with respect to the AGM notice of convening, the AGM has carried the resolution with the required majority and the majority of the share capital present at the time of the vote.
As for Item 6, resolution on amendment of the articles of incorporation when it comes to the share register, entries in the share register, the AGM carried the resolution with the required majority and the majority of the share capital present at the time of the vote. Item 7, resolution on the approval of the remuneration report. The resolution was carried with the required majority of the votes cast. As for Item 8, resolution on the election of the auditor and group auditor for financial year 2023, as well as the auditor for the review of the condensed financial statements and the interim management report for the first half of financial year 2023. This resolution was carried with the required majority. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the business of the meeting. I am going to close the annual general meeting in a minute.
I'd like to thank all those involved in the organization and smooth running of this AGM on scene and behind the scenes. I'd like to say a particular word of thanks to you, our shareholders. Thank you for having trust in Deutsche Börse. Thank you for following the AGM webcast, and thank you for your questions and contributions. I'd like to thank you most sincerely for both the critical and encouraging questions that you have asked. Your many contributions have shown how important it is for us to engage in this dialogue with you. With that, the meeting is closed. Thank you very much, and I wish you a good trip to wherever you're going, and all the best for the future.