Deutsche Bank AG unveiled a radical overhaul that will see the lender exit its equities business, post a 2.8 billion-euro second-quarter loss and cut the workforce by a fifth to reverse a slide in profitability.
“Today we have announced the most fundamental transformation of Deutsche Bank in decades,” Sewing said in a statement on Sunday. “We are tackling what is necessary to unleash our true potential.” Non-Core UnitAbout 74 billion euros of risk-weighted assets will become part of a new non-core unit and the lender’s capital buffer will be reduced as part of the plan. With the stock price down by half in the past two years, selling new shares wasn’t an option and the bank said it does not plan a capital increase to pay for the overhaul.
Other executives will be on the rise. Stefan Hoops was named to oversee the new “corporate bank” unit that will combine the transaction bank and the lender’s corporate-clients unit. Three management board members where appointed: Christiana Riley is taking over responsibilities for the Americas, Bernd Leukert, formerly of SAP AG, will join Sept. 1 and be responsible for data and innovation. Stefan Simon will become chief administrative officer and oversee regulatory and legal affairs.