Deutsche Bank starts hunt for successor to John Cryan
Deutsche Bank is lining up successors to its embattled boss John Cryan, according to multiple reports.
Paul Achleitner, the chair of the giant German lender’s board, has held talks with potential new bosses, Bloomberg reported.
Cryan has struggled to fend off criticism of the bank’s strategy from shareholders and analysts, many of whom focus on the poor performance of the investment banking arm.
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The Yorkshireman, who speaks fluent German, has presided over years of cost-cutting at the bank in an effort to turn it around since joining in July 2015. This included a decision to withhold the majority of bonus payments in January 2017, although they were reinstated this year.
Deutsche last week successfully floated its asset management arm, DWS, in a move which netted it €1.4bn (£1.2bn).
However, the bank’s recent performance has been lacklustre, with shares falling by 29 per cent in the year to date. Last week the share price plummeted following comments from chief financial officer James von Moltke, who said revenues might be lower than optimistic guidance given at the start of February.
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Achleitner has approached multiple senior London-based bankers on an informal level, but has so far been turned down, according to the Times. These include Goldman Sachs’ Richard Gnodde, and Unicredit’s Jean Pierre Mustier.
The chair could struggle to attract the right calibre of candidate without splashing extra money, given the relatively low compensation package paid to Cryan, said one analyst who covers the bank.
“This is the toughest job in banking,” said the analyst, pointing to a long backlog of legacy contracts limiting growth opportunities. “Anyone who would come in would be handicapped.”
Shares rose by 0.34 per cent today in spite of the reports.
Deutsche Bank declined to comment.
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