Data Protection

General notes and mandatory information

We respect your wishes with regard to the protection of personal data and treat your personal data confidentially on the basis of this data protection declaration and within the framework of the statutory data protection regulations.

As a rule, it is possible to use our website without providing personal data. Insofar as personal data (e.g. name, address or e-mail addresses) is collected on our pages, this is always done, as far as possible, on a voluntary basis. This data will not be passed on to third parties without your express consent.

We have taken precautions to secure our systems and to protect the data transmitted, e.g. via contact form. The transmission of data is encrypted using the SSL (Secure Socket Layer) protocol. SSL-encrypted websites can be identified in the browser by the corresponding symbol or in the URL by the HTTPS protocol (https://www.gracher.de ).

Name and address of the person responsible:

GRACHER Kredit- und Kautionsmakler GmbH & Co.KG
Mr. Alfons-Maria Gracher
Bahnhofstraße 30-32
54292 Trier

How do we collect your data?

Some data is collected automatically or after consent by the IT systems when visiting the website. This is technical data (internet browser, time of page view, etc.) that is automatically collected when you visit the website.

Other data is collected when you provide it to us, for example by filling out the contact form.

What do we use your data for?

We collect and use your personal data mainly only to guarantee error-free provision of the website. Some data may also be used to analyse your user behaviour.

What rights do you have?

You have the right to obtain information about the origin, recipient and purpose of your stored personal data at any time. You also have the right to have this data corrected or deleted. If you have given your consent to data processing, you can revoke this consent at any time. You have the right to have data that we process automatically on the basis of your consent or in fulfilment of a contract handed over to you or a third party in a common, machine-readable format. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority.

Storage period

Unless a specific storage period has been specified, we will store your personal data until the purpose for processing no longer applies. Should you request a justified deletion of your data or revoke your consent, your data will be deleted unless there are other legally permissible reasons for storing your personal data.

The use of contact data published within the framework of the imprint obligation for the purpose of sending advertising and information material not expressly requested is hereby prohibited. The operators of the site reserve the right to take legal action in the event of the unsolicited sending of advertising information.

Data collection on our website

Cookies

Some of the Internet pages use so-called cookies. Cookies do not cause any damage to your computer and do not contain viruses. Cookies serve to make our offer more user-friendly, effective and secure. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer and managed by your browser.

Most of the cookies we use are so-called “session cookies”. They are automatically deleted at the end of your visit. Other cookies remain stored on your end device until they are deleted manually or automatically. Cookies enable us to recognise your browser on your next visit.

You can set your browser so that you are informed about the setting of cookies and only allow cookies in individual cases, exclude the acceptance of cookies for certain cases or in general and activate the automatic deletion of cookies when closing the browser. If you deactivate cookies, the functionality of this website may be limited.

Server-Log-Files

The provider of the pages automatically collects and stores information in so-called server log files, which your browser automatically transmits.

These are: Browser type/browser version, information about the operating system used, referrer URL, host name of the accessing computer, as well as the time of the server request.

This data cannot be assigned to specific persons. This data is not merged with other data sources. We reserve the right to check this data retrospectively if we become aware of specific indications of unlawful use.

The basis for data processing is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO, which permits the processing of data for the fulfilment of a contract or pre-contractual measures.

Contact form

If you send us enquiries and messages via the contact form, the information you provide in the form, including the contact details you enter there, will be stored by us for the purpose of processing the enquiry and in the event of follow-up questions. We do not pass on this data without your consent.

The processing of the data entered in the contact form is therefore based exclusively on your consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). You can revoke this consent at any time. For this purpose, an informal communication by e-mail to us is sufficient. The legality of the data processing operations carried out until the revocation remains unaffected by the revocation.

The data you entered in the contact form will remain with us until you request us to delete it, revoke your consent to store it or the purpose for storing the data no longer applies. Mandatory legal provisions – in particular retention periods – remain unaffected.

Newsletter

Newsletter information and consent

The following information explains the contents of our newsletter as well as the registration, dispatch and statistical evaluation procedures and your rights of objection. By subscribing to our newsletter, you agree to receive it and to the procedures described.

Newsletter content

We send newsletters, e-mails and other electronic notifications with promotional information (hereinafter “newsletter”) only with the consent of the recipients or a legal permission. If the contents of a newsletter are specifically described in the registration, they are decisive for the user’s consent. In addition, our newsletters contain information on topics related to client knowledge and law firm management.

Double opt-in and logging

Registration for our newsletter takes place in a so-called double opt-in process. This means that after registration you will receive an email asking you to confirm your registration. This confirmation is necessary so that no one can register with other email addresses.

The registrations for the newsletter are logged in order to be able to prove the registration process in accordance with the legal requirements. This includes the storage of the registration and confirmation time, as well as the IP address. Changes to your data stored by Cleverreach are also logged.

Use of the “Cleverreach” shipping service provider

The newsletter is sent using “Cleverreach”, a newsletter dispatch platform of the

CleverReach GmbH & Co. KG,
Mühlenstr. 43
26180 Rastede
Germany

The email addresses of our newsletter recipients, as well as their other data described in this notice, are stored on Cleverreach’s servers in Europe. Cleverreach uses this information to send and evaluate the newsletters on our behalf. Furthermore, Cleverreach may, according to its own information, use this data to optimise or improve its own services, e.g. to technically optimise the dispatch and presentation of the newsletters or for economic purposes to determine from which countries the recipients come. However, Cleverreach does not use the data of our newsletter recipients to write to them itself or to pass it on to third parties.

We trust Cleverreach’s reliability and IT and data security.  Furthermore, we have concluded a written data processing agreement with Cleverreach. This is a contract in which Cleverreach undertakes to protect our users’ data, to process it on our behalf in accordance with its data protection provisions and, in particular, not to pass it on to third parties”.

Data protection officer

If you have any questions about the processing of your personal data or about your data protection rights, please contact:

Horst Wingenter
Bahnhofstrasse 30-32
54292 Trier

Phone: 0651 – 98127-0
E-Mail: datenschutz@gracher.de

Personal Info

Alfons Maria Gracher

Trained bank clerk, degree in business administration and, since 2000, managing partner of Gracher Kredit- und Kautionsmakler GmbH und Co. KG, Germany’s largest surety service provider.

An expert in his field and a member of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) finance committee, he is consulted on such matters as the implementation of European Commission directives and regulations.

He is also a co-founder and board member of (the international credit broker association) BARDO e.V., established in 2013, and heads its surety committee. As a founding member of Surety Alliance, he is well-connected internationally.

And since May 2023, he has been a member of the Advisory Board of F.A.Z. BUSINESS MEDIA GmbH.

Personal Info

Viktor Margaritopoulos

Degree in business administration Born 1980, partner, 1 child A successful 18-year career in sales and consulting, working in the insurance, manufacturing, banking, financial sectors for companies including Deutsche Bank Privat und Geschäftskunden AG and Euler Hermes Deutschland. Mentor and lecturer for insurance and business administration at DHBW Mannheim, as well as other higher-education establishments. Member of the insurance committee at the Saarland Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Member of Arbeitskreis Wirtschaft e.V..

Personal Info

André Ofenloch

born 1974, married, two children

Qualified insurance broker and degree in business administration.

André Ofenloch began his carrier as an analyst and underwriter in 1993, working in the Creditline division of Allgemeinen Kredit AG (later Coface Deutschland AG). In 2003, he moved to Coface’s new factoring subsidiary Coface Finanz GmbH, starting out as an account manager in commercial factoring. From 2006 onwards, he became the authorized head of the Business Development, Institutional Clients/Refactoring and Reverse Factoring divisions. In 2014, he was made head of sales for the company’s factoring business, managing a 15-strong decentralized sales team up until the end of 2018. Parallel to this, he also became head of the newly established New Client Structuring and Onboarding division, where he remained until the end of 2019.

At Gracher, Ofenloch oversees the factoring and receivables & purchase financing business. In addition to a wealth of experience drawn from a long career in financing and credit insurance, Ofenloch also has an extensive network of contacts in credit insurance, factoring, banking and purchase order financing.

Personal Info

Horst Wingenter

Coming soon.

Personal Info

Christian Wolber

After training as a bank clerk, Wolber obtained a Bachelor in International Business in Maastricht, completing part of the course in Ecuador. He also completed a Masters in Banking & Finance at HSG St. Gallen.

He then spent 12 years in London, initially at Barclays Capital and then at Citigroup. At both institutions, he worked in leveraged finance, structuring and placing financing solutions for corporate and private equity clients. He then moved to Ondra Partners (also in London) where he worked in debt advisory.

Wolber now heads Gracher’s finance consulting business. In addition to his longstanding experience within the financing sector, he also has an extensive network of contacts among financing partners – banks, credit funds (private debt), mezzanine financing providers, and a wide variety of alternative credit providers.

Personal Info

Carl E Hoestermann

Attorney

born 1961, married, 3 children

1992 Deutsche Bank management trainee program in Frankfurt and subsequent role as assistant to the board of management at the Duisburg branch. Thereafter, branch director of two large Deutsche Bank branches.

At the end of 1997, moved to HOCHTIEF AG in Essen as Head of Corporate Finance, Investor Relations and Asset Management. Responsibility for numerous projects, both national and international.  From 2004 onwards, also Deputy Chairman at HOCHTIEF Pension Trust e.V., the group’s investment vehicle for financing German pension liabilities.

Longstanding management and project experience at international level, including negotiation of high-volume surety facilities for operating subsidiaries in the USA and Canada.

Personal Info

Wolfgang Bäumer

After graduating from high school, trained as a bank clerk at a savings bank, where he was subsequently employed in the bank’s credit department.

He then studied law in Bonn, passing the bar, and went on to work in Deutsche Bank AG’s corporate banking division.

From here, he moved into property leasing at subsidiaries of Dresdner Bank and Commerzbank and was responsible for structuring and financing numerous large projects – focusing, in particular, on compliance with international accounting rules.

Joined Gracher in 2013, focusing on the construction industry and property developers.

Personal Info

Christoph Spuller

Coming soon.

Personal Info

Edwin Jacobs

Coming soon.

Personal Info

Kontantin Narykov

Economist/ English

born 1991, married, two children

After successfully completing his studies in Economics and English at the University of Trier, Narykov gained international experience in the financial centre of Luxembourg.

In February 2018, he joined Gracher, where he works as a deposit specialist and also supports the company in the development of in-house software solutions.

Personal Information

Daniel Rose

married, two children

After graduating from high school and basic military service Mr. Rose studied business administration at Phillips University in Marburg (Diploma in Business Administration) and at the University of Kent in Canterbury (Diploma in Accounting & Finance) and he is a CFA Charterholder.

After completing his studies, he started his professional career in 2004 at DZ Bank in acquisition financing. In 2006, Mr. Rose moved to Natixis S.A., where he helped building up the leveraged finance portfolio in Germany and London. Before joining us, Mr. Rose worked since 2013 in European Corporate Finance at Mizuho Bank, Ltd. , responsible for financing large corporates, mostly from the Transport & Automotive Sector.

At Gracher, Mr. Rose is heading the Frankfurt office, where he advises large and private equity customers in the area of surety insurance.

Mr. Rose has many years of experience in credit-based financing and has a strong network of banks, advisors, debt funds, PE funds, lawyers and companies.

Zur Person

Kornelia Josic

Banker

1970, 1 daughter
Mrs. Josic began her professional career in 1987 with an apprenticeship as a banker at Commerzbank AG in Karlsruhe, where she very quickly familiarized herself with the world of documentary foreign business after successfully completing her university degree.

After her working in Heidelberg, Baden-Baden and Karlsruhe – always anchored in sales-related corporate customer business field – in 1998 she decided to move to the headquarters of Commerzbank AG, where she was responsible for relationships with banks in Eastern Europe.

In 2000 she took her first managerial position as an authorized signatory in Munich – again in the corporate customer business field as responsible manager of the documentary foreign business for southern Bavaria with a sales order. In 2007 she switched to classic sales as a corporate customer advisor. Here, Mrs. Josic was responsible for the support and development of a portfolio of companies in the small and Medium-sized sector, and then shortly after she grew into the support of the upper medium-sized companies. In 2014 she took over the management of corporate credit administration and covered the control of the administration and contract design of the entire credit business of SMEs in southern Bavaria, including the negotiation of complex, structured contracts. As part of the continuous improvement process, she immersed herself in the project business and shared responsibility for the design of loan agreements and the guarantee process of the Corporate Credit Administration. From 2018 she devoted herself to her passion in customer sales as a key account manager in the middle to upper medium-sized sector, firstly in Munich and from 2020 in Karlsruhe.

Due to her previous professional career, Mrs. Josic has almost 30 years of professional experience in the corporate customer business field.

Personal Info

Özay Süerdem

Following his apprenticeship as a banker at SEB, Mr. Süerdem completed his bachelor’s and master’s degree at FOM in ‘Business Administration’ (focus: Finance) as well as ‘Finance & Accounting’ in Cologne. During this period, Mr. Süerdem worked in various positions in banking and financing industry of banks and financial institutions as senior consultant, credit analyst, customer consultant and sales assistant. Most recently, Mr. Süerdem worked for Big4 companies in consulting and auditing the credit business of banks. In addition to various credit-related consulting projects, his primary tasks included the risk assessment of complex credit engagements (especially project & leveraged finance). At Gracher, Mr. Süerdem is a senior manager, responsible for all aspects of corporate financing and works closely with Mr. Wolber. He is the main contact for asset-based financing in the context of M&A and real estate transactions.

Zur Person

Kai Grove

born 1976, married, 3 children

In 1996, after completing military service, he began his training at the Kreissparkasse Wesermünde-Hadeln. After successfully completing his degree, Mr. Grove worked in the Corporate Clients department as a loan officer, in the corporate client secretariat and as a financial analyst. During this time, further training to become a savings bank specialist and savings bank business administrator took place. In 2007, Mr. Grove switched to sales as a corporate client advisor. Here he advised start-ups, self-employed, freelancers, commercial and corporate customers on all topics from the banking and insurance industry.

In 2013, Mr. Grove started working as a corporate account manager at MMV Leasing GmbH in Hamburg. From April 1, 2015, he was employed as district manager at the newly opened Bremen site, and on January 1, 2017, he was appointed deputy branch manager. In 2017, Mr. Grove switched to abcfinance GmbH, where he began working as an account manager, also in sales leasing, and later as a key account manager or specialist in sales financing. In sales leasing, sales financing concepts for specialist retailers are developed and implemented.

Due to his previous career, Mr. Grove has more than 20 years of professional experience in corporate and B2B business.

Since July 1st, 2020, Mr. Grove has been part of the deposit team at Gracher Kredit- und Kautionsmakler GmbH & Co. KG in northern Germany.

Personal info

Christian Bos

Christian Bos has accumulated over 10 years experience in the Bonding industry with Nationale Borg and Atradius Bonding. Being highly client orientated Christian Bos has experience in creating and looking for creative solutions to bring parties together.
With an extensive network in banking, insurance companies and a European business focus he will look for national and international business opportunites for the Gracher Group.
Specialities are customer focus, cross selling and international business with multinationals.

Personal Info

Thomas Hottmann

Coming soon.

Personal Info

Dr. phil. Thomas Möldner

Divorced, one child
Studied English and Slavic languages and literature, doctorate in 1992 in the field of English linguistics.

Has worked in the banking industry since 1993: Credit business, credit brokerage, process optimisation.
2021 Joined Gracher Kredit- und Kautionsmakler GmbH und Co. KG as senior deposit officer.

 

Zur Person

Carsten Schack

Born 1979, married, two children
Banker, graduated in business administration and certified credit risk manager from the Frankfurt
School of Finance & Management. Carsten Schack's professional career began at the Volksbank Bonn Rhein Sieg eG with an internship as a bank employee and then studies in the corporate client sector. After successfully completing his studies, Schack took a job as a corporate client advisor for regional medium-sized companies. He then gained his first experience in factoring at VR FACTOREM GmbH as a key account manager, before gaining his first experience in factoring at HSBC. Schack then switched to Coface Finanz GmbH and was responsible for the Cologne area as a Senior Region Manager Trade Receivables Finance. In 2018, he assumed the role of Senior Region Manager in Deal Structuring at Coface Finanz GmbH until he switched back to sales at ABN AMRO Commercial Finance. There he was responsible for acquiring new clients and maintaining and developing various sales channels for asset-based finance products such as factoring, leasing and inventory financing.

Basically, the Rhineland resident has more than 20 years of experience in finance and credit.

At Gracher, Mr. Schack takes care of factoring and purchase financing. In addition to his experience in finance and credit, he has an extensive network consisting of credit insurers, factoring companies, financial institutions and procurement financiers.

Personal Info

Andreas Berg

After completing his education as an insurance specialist in the Signal Iduna Group / Hansa-Invest and Donner & Reuschel Privat Bank in 2001, his focus was initially on advising the local craftsmen (master craftsmen) in the areas of financing and on the concept of optimal insurance protection.

Due to his previous professional career, Andreas Berg has more than 20 years of experience with medium-sized companies.

Since 01.10.2017 Mr. Berg has been part of the surety team at Gracher for the area of North Rhine-Westphalia.

ersonal Info

Lana Srdanovic

Economist

Born 1982, married, two children

In 2005 she began her career first as a clerk and later as a junior specialist in corporate finance at the representative office of LHB Internationale Handelsbank AG Frankfurt, in the office in Belgrade. Since 2012 she has worked as a corporate account manager at Dunav Banka AD in Belgrade with a focus on bank guarantees. In 2015 Ms. Srdanovic switched to ProCredit Bank AG in Frankfurt am Main, where she also worked as a business client advisor, also in sales, and later as a senior business client advisor. She is very familiar with complex tasks such as credit risk analyses or supporting loan applications.

Due to her previous professional career, Mrs. Srdanovic has more than 15 years of experience in the corporate customer business.

Since September 2021, Mrs. Srdanovic is a senior consultant in the sales team at Gracher Kredit- und Kautionsmakler GmbH & Co. KG from the Frankfurt location and will be available to clients from there.

Personal info

Luba Nikiforova

Dipl. Economist, born 1981, 1 child

Studied Economics with a focus in Finance at the Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg followed by a MSc in European Politics and Governance at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

For 15 years working as a business development expert in various fields in Bulgaria – electricity trading, renewable energy, energy efficiency, EU financing. Was responsible for the optimization of electricity costs for an energy-intensive industrial company, which became the first Bulgarian industrial consumer to cover its own electricity needs through active electricity trading activity and thus achieved significant financial savings.

Since May 2020 working at Gracher as Specialist Standard Surety Bonds.