Deutsche Bank management board members to receive bonuses for first time since 2014
Deutsche Bank’s management board members were awarded bonuses this year for the first time since 2014 as the bank returned to profit, it disclosed today.
The board received €55.7m (£48.2m) for 2018, compared to €29.8m the previous year.
Read more: Deutsche Bank drops down investment bank table while Barclays gains ground
Chief executive Christian Sewing received €7m, up from €3.4m the previous year.
The bank reported net income of €341m for 2018, its first full-year profit since 2014 and up from a loss of €735m the previous year.
Sewing said: “With a return to profitability, reinforced controls and a strong balance sheet, we laid firm foundations for controlled growth which is now our strategic priority.”
Deutsche is currently in merger talks with fellow German bank Commerzbank to create a national banking champion with the government as a major shareholder.
Read more: Germany is forcing a bank marriage that may not work
The merged bank would have around €1.8 trillion in assets and a market value of €25bn – holding one fifth of Germany's retail banking markets and employing 140,000 people around the world.
The proposed merger has come under fire from unions which warn it could put 30,000 jobs at risk.
In a memo to employees confirming the talks Sewing said the bank had “done its homework” over the last couple of months, and it was now time to look at the merger.
He said: “We have consistently stressed that consolidation in the German and European banking sector is an important topic for us.
“We have to assess how we want to play a part in shaping it.”