Deutsche Bank unveiled a sweeping overhaul in July 2019, announcing it would cut 18,000 jobs as it pulled back from Wall Street and refocused on its home market.
Chief executive Christian Sewing, who has led the bank since 2018, told staff the firings were “radical action” toward a “fundamental transformation.” “I personally regret the impact this will have on some of you,” he wrote. “In the long-term interests of our bank, however, we have no choice other than to approach this transformation decisively.”
The plan would shrink Deutsche’s investment operations and global footprint while concentrating on corporate banking, trimming its workforce to about 72,000 by 2022.
The restructuring carried political weight in the United States. Deutsche had become a favored lender to then-President Donald Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and the bank’s dealings with Trump, who owed it around $300 million, drew scrutiny from Robert Mueller’s investigation and congressional Democrats.
Markets initially welcomed the move, and shares rose. “DB restructuring in our view is bold and for the first time not half-baked but a real strategic shift giving up its Tier I IB ambitions,” J.P. Morgan wrote, while markets analyst Neil Wilson said earlier shake-ups had been “too little, too late.”
“All of this will create a new, better Deutsche Bank,” Sewing wrote, adding that the shift would return the lender “closer to our core strength, or DNA.”
Sources
- Trump’s Favorite Bank Is Melting Down | Vanity Fair
- How CEO Christian Sewing is Mending Deutsche Bank | Business Chief
