Under-fire Deutsche Bank boss vows to press on
FRANKFURT AM MAIN: The chief executive of trouble-plagued German lender Deutsche Bank has written to employees to dash rumours he would soon be pushed out, saying he was ‘absolutely committed’ to righting the bank.
“I am absolutely committed to serving our bank and to continuing down the path” back to stability and profitability, John Cryan wrote in a letter late Wednesday.
While Cryan’s contract runs until 2020, press reports in recent days have suggested a rift over strategy with supervisory board chairman Paul Achleitner, who is said to be seeking a replacement.
Given sole command of the Frankfurt lender in 2016, Cryan’s task was to restructure Deutsche and clean up the toxic legacy of its pre-financial crisis bid to compete with global investment banking giants.
He has neutralised the worst legal threats, in part by paying billions in fines and compensation, strengthened Deutsche’s capital foundations with an 8-billion-euro (US$9.9 billion) share issue last year and floated asset management division DWS on the stock market this month.
But “the financial results have so far not been what all of us would want them to be,” Cryan acknowledged, in a nod to an unexpected 751-million-euro loss reported for 2017.
While the bank said the loss was a one-off caused by US President Donald Trump’s corporate tax reform, investors have shunned Deutsche since the start of the year, with its stock dropping around 30 per cent in value since January 1.
Nevertheless, “we need to focus on executing the strategy that was agreed and signed off by both the management and supervisory boards,” Cryan said in a bid to smooth over the reported divisions at the top.
“There is no difference of opinion here.”
Besides the progress made in restructuring the bank, the Deutsche chief hailed the bank’s “strong momentum” and “ability to sustain market share in our most important business lines,” especially at the corporate and investment bank.
Even at that flagship division, revenues have been weaker than shareholders would like.
Deutsche’s share price fell sharply last week after finance chief James von Moltke warned of 450 million euros in negative currency and other effects that will sap the unit’s results in the first quarter.
Looking ahead “I personally have to give the company direction as we have to rebalance the often conflicting demands of our various stakeholders,” Cryan said.
As Deutsche moves out of its intensive-care phase there will be “more emphasis on generating attractive shareholder returns and returning to growth... I will commit all my efforts to make this happen,” he added. — AFP