Deutsche Bank said Monday that the bank’s Chief Executive Josef Ackermann won’t take over as chairman of the supervisory board when he steps down in May, and it is proposing Allianz SE financial chief Paul Achleitner for the position instead. Citing “extremely challenging” conditions on the international financial markets and in the political-regulatory environment,” Mr. Ackermann said he must focus on his tasks as CEO right now, according to a statement from the bank. This means he can’t spend time seeking the support of shareholders for his bid to be supervisory board chairman. Supervisory board candidates need the support of 25% of the shareholders to be elected. A person familiar with the matter told Dow Jones Newswires that Mr. Ackermann didn’t have the time do the necessary lobbying and couldn’t win their backing. Another person familiar with the matter said: “It became obvious that Ackermann couldn’t secure this.” [WSJ]
Josef Ackermann
This Europe Crap Is Throwing A Wrench In Josef Ackermann’s Plans To Be Out Of The Office Every Day By 5 This Year
By Bess Levin
Remember last week, when Deutsche Bank said a report they plan to save between 1 billion euros ($1.43 billion) and 2 billion euros a year and “win market shares” by purging employees was total BS? According to CEO Josef Ackerman, it’s more like 50 percent BS/50 percent not so much BS. Continue reading »
Anshu Jain is the head of Deutsche Bank’s Corporate & Investment Bank, sits on the management committee and oversees operations that produce upwards of 90 percent of the firm’s profits in any given quarter. He’s considered a “star” at DB and among those who follow his work and with CEO Josef Ackermann’s contract expiring in 2013, many believe AJ should be named the successor. According to portfolio manager (and shareholder) Lutz Roehmeyer, “Mr. Jain deserves to run Deutsche Bank” and if you ask BlackRock’s Larry Fink, he’ll tell you “Anshu has done a fantastic job…He would make a very good chief executive at Deutsche.” Unfortunately, there are a few problems, not the least of them being Germany’s need to examine its motives.
“In Germany, no one can imagine an Indian working in London who does not speak German being the C.E.O. of Deutsche Bank,” said Roehmeyer.
There’s also the matter of Ackermann seeing it as “his legacy to crown a successor in his own statesman-like mold — perhaps Axel A. Weber, the recently departed head of the German central bank” and the board being “wary of choosing a bond and derivatives technician at a time when the practices of all major banks are still being scrutinized.” Regardless, this is his time, this is his moment, and this is going to happen for AJ. Continue reading »
And the award goes to… Continue reading »
He said so over the weekend. Continue reading »
Deutsche Bank boss Josef Ackermann spent last night in Washington chilling with Bono, Bill Clinton and other dignitaries at the Atlantic Council’s annual awards dinner.
While he applauded the influential think tank’s “courage to give an award to a banker,” he acknowledged in his speech that bankers had made mistakes with financial instruments that were too complex to understand the risks that were taken. Continue reading »
What are they doing about it? Considering their options, that’s what.
According to people familiar with the matter, a number of employees — including some of the bank’s most talented and highest-paid people — are feeling that they aren’t being fairly compensated for their work in helping the bank weather the financial crisis without having to be bailed out by the German government.
Sources said the frustration has the potential for creating a real headache for CEO Josef Ackermann, who runs the risk of losing talent in the bank’s trading operation, which is considered the second-most profitable behind Goldman Sachs. One group of bond traders that has already left over pay includes Jerry Cudzil and David Malvern, who were part of a team that took over a book of business from Deutsche Bank’s former head of credit trading, Boaz Weinstein.
Apparently management thinks it’s paying its employees just fine but is the victim of “an unusual wave of poaching from rivals like Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Credit Suisse.”
- Use the Bloomberg command
NH BLG_DEALBREAKER <GO>
to access Dealbreaker
