FRANKFURT - Deutsche Bank investors are renewing calls for it to scale back its investment bank division ahead of what promises to be a challenging annual shareholder meeting next week.
One major investor is trying to extract a pledge from the bank for cuts to the unit before committing to back management in a symbolic vote of confidence at the meeting, a person with knowledge of the matter said on condition of anonymity.“Without cuts in investment banking, we believe it will not be possible to achieve targets on returns,” said portfolio manager Alexandra Annecke, who is due to address the meeting.
But the bank is unlikely to announce any changes to its investment banking operations in the coming days, executives said. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank attributed the collapse of merger talks to the risks of doing a deal, restructuring costs and capital demands, but concerns about the investment bank loomed large, people with knowledge of the matter said.
NESSERCERY