The new chief executive of Deutsche Bank, Christian Sewing, has hinted at further job losses in the struggling German bank’s London operations.
Sewing replaced John Cryan, whose defenestration occurred at the weekend, and wasted little time in sending a memo to staff in which he warned the investment banking arm, which employs thousands of people in London, would have to further adapt its revenue, cost and capital structure.
Cyan's contract due to run until 2020
Sewing set a target for the year of costs not exceeding €23bn (£20bn), which is likely to please those analysts who have been arguing for costs to come down more quickly.
“The priority is to leverage our strengths and to allocate our investments accordingly, and at the same time we will look to free up capacity for growth by pulling back from those areas where we are not sufficiently profitable,” Sewing said.
Deutsche Bank boss to step down amid continued losses https://t.co/xpcKwklhuq
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) April 8, 2018
Deutsche Bank chairman, Paul Achleitner, with whom Cryan has reportedly had a fractious relationship, said Cryan has “laid the groundwork for a successful future of the bank” in his three years at the helm of the banking group.
Cryan’s contract was due to run until 2020.
The appointment of his successor, Sewing, whose background is in retail banking, is being seen by some as a sign that the German bank’s foray into investment banking could be ending.
Cryan will leave at the end of the month, Deutsche Bank (DB) said.
Marcus Schenk, who with Sewing was joint deputy chief executive officer, will also leave the bank; his background, like Cryan’s, is on the investment banking side of things. He informed DB’s supervisory board before Easter that he was on his bike.
Shares in Deutsche Bank were up 0.14% in Europe on Monday.
As Sewing succeeds Cryan at helm of Deutsche Bank - a reminder how Deutsche’s high-stakes gamble went wrong via @FT https://t.co/6p2yvycIpm pic.twitter.com/es5yAgQrPO
— Patrick Jenkins (@patrickjenkins_) April 9, 2018