Anshu Jain's Rosetta Stone Tapes Are PAYING OFF

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Updated:: Jan 14, 2019
Original:: May 23, 2013

“Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, liebe Aktionäre” [Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders]. “Herzlich willkommen zur Hauptversammlung der Deutschen Bank” [A warm welcome to Deutsche Bank's annual general meeting]. Deutsche Bank’s co-chief executive, Anshu Jain, Thursday awed shareholders by giving a two-page introductory speech at the bank’s annual shareholders meeting in…German. It was the moment some shareholders had been waiting for. At last year’s AGM, some German investors had voiced concern as to whether they would need to learn English in order to understand the newly elected co-chief executive of “their bank.” Mr Jain, an Indian-born with a British passport, took office almost a year ago after the shareholder’s meeting, along with co-chief executive Juergen Fitschen, a native German speaker. [WSJ]

Tomorrow morning, Anshu Jain will start his new job as co-CEO of Deutsche Bank. Despite having previously overseen operations that produce 90 percent of the firm's profits in any given quarter, sitting on the management committee, and generally being considered a "star" both within the company and among those who follow his work, chief executive officer is a title no one thought AJ would be given if he remained at DB, because 1) people back in Germany don't like that he's an investment banker and 2) "In Germany, no one can imagine an Indian working in London who does not speak German being CEO of Deutsche Bank." To the haters' chagrin, though, that's exactly what's about to happen. And if they want to continue bitching about it, they can be Jain's guest-- their insults go in one ear and out the other. While Mr. Jain has taken German lessons, he doesn't speak the language, and Der Spiegel, the country's best-selling weekly magazine, ran a 12-page cover story earlier this year laying much of the blame for Deutsche Bank's troubles at Mr. Jain's feet. Jain Takes The Reigns At Deutsche [WSJ]

The Germans thought about it and decided yes, layoffs sound like a great idea. Deutsche Bank said it will eliminate 1,900 jobs, including 1,500 at the investment bank, as part of an effort to save 3 billion euros ($3.68 billion). Deutsche Bank, based in Frankfurt, forecast “substantial costs” to achieve the savings without giving a figure in a statement to the stock exchange today. The job reductions are part of a strategy review Anshu Jain and Juergen Fitschen, Deutsche Bank’s new co-chief executive officers, are conducting as the lender grapples with declining revenue from the investment bank, which reported a 63 percent decline in second-quarter earnings today...“The time for vague promises of cultural change in our industry is long gone,” Jain said on a conference call with analysts and reporters. Deutsche Bank’s leaders are “totally determined to act quickly and decisively.” Deutsche Bank To Cut 1,900 Jobs In Bid To Save EU3 Billion [Bloomberg]