Investors demand more from management at Deutsche Bank
INVESTORS have called foul on Deutsche Bank’s latest management shake-up, demanding further changes to the firm if it is going to meet its cost-cutting targets and increase earnings.
Deutsche said on Wednesday night that it had fired some executives and re-arranged responsibilities among its senior management, putting co-chief executive Anshu Jain in charge of a reorganisation and cost-cutting at Germany’s largest bank.
But investors attending Deutsche Bank’s annual general meeting yesterday said that Jain is on borrowed time to prove he can boost the company’s earnings. In a vote at the AGM, 40 per cent of shareholders said they did not back the management shake-up. One top-20 shareholder told Reuters: “Jain now has 12 to 18 months to deliver.”
Jain has been tasked with cutting the bank’s costs by €4.7bn (£3.34bn). In recent years, Jain and his co-chief executive Juergen Fitschen have failed to guide Deutsche toward meeting its earnings targets.
Last month, the bank introduced a restructuring plan to get rid of unprofitable business lines. But many investors said the proposal amounted to too little, too late.