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Deutsche Bank 'led by losers', says ex CEO

Published: 1 Aug 12 10:04 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/money/20120801-44097.html

As Deutsche Bank’s chief executives Anshu Jain and Jürgen Fitschen launch a cost-cutting plan to save €3 billion, and admit the firm’s involvement in the Libor-fixing scandal, their predecessor Joseph Ackermann has called them “losers”.

Wednesday’s Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) newspaper reported that Ackermann, who handed the reins over to the new leadership just a month ago, bad-mouthed them to a small group of colleagues.

The paper said reports of his remarks had caused uproar within the bank – coming as they do just as the pair are dealing with a halving of profits in the second quarter of the year, as well as the Libor scandal.

Ackermann, who led the bank for ten years and was very publicly the face of Germany’s biggest lender, supposedly warned against risks from investment banking, the FTD said.

Now, with Deutsche Bank firmly embroiled in the Libor fixing scandal, where base interest rates were manipulated wholesale by a group of international banks, Ackermann feels proven correct, the paper said. Jain admitted on Tuesday that a “small number of its employees” – but no executive board member – had been involved in the scandal.

Deutsche Bank had nothing to say about its former manager’s comments and while a spokesman for Ackermann denied them, the FTD stood by its story.

The bank is cutting nearly 2,000 jobs, largely in the investment banking sector, in an attempt to save €350 million, while a further €500 million should be saved by the integration of Postbank.

Where the rest of the €3 billion savings will be made, was not clear on Tuesday. Jain and Fitschen said they would present a full strategy including a vaguely described “change in business model” in September.

The Local/hc

What do you think? Leave your comment below.


Your comments about this article:

#1
10:30 August 1, 2012 by kohcherp
I'm sure his lordship had to stop reigning, but I think he had to hand over the reins as well.

http://commonsensej.blogspot.de/2011/06/usage-handing-over-reigns.html
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#2
10:57 August 1, 2012 by Navigator_B
Ackermann was in charge of Deutsche Bank when all the scandals happened. He had the image of a powerful influential leader for ten years, so he can't now pass the blame onto people who worked under him during that time.

It's just like the way that Angela Merkel seems to forget that she was supposed to be in charge of gevernment at the time when so much German money went astray with the help of German banks. Now she is lecturing other people about their responsibilities.
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#3
11:24 August 1, 2012 by smart2012
guys, another example of how German press is making germans blind

"Now, with Deutsche Bank firmly embroiled in the Libor fixing scandal, where base interest rates were manipulated wholesale by a group of international banks, Ackermann feels proven correct, the paper said. Jain admitted on Tuesday that a ¦quot;small number of its employees¦quot; ­ but no executive board member ­ had been involved in the scandal."

Deutsche bank has been one of the main cause of the 2008 Americal bubble, DB has been investing tons of German people money into Greece and Spain, DB is now involved in Libor scandal (3 banks in Europe ie two German banbks and one Frence).... And this guy says that he did not know anything about the 3 major disasters of the last 10 years? Either he is an idiot (which I strongly doubt) or he is a lier....

Of course FTD will never says this, but will say that the issue is Greece..... LOL
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#4
04:01 August 3, 2012 by machinehead
I would hazard a guess that Deutsche Bank's involvement in Libor fixing is centred on its global operations headquarters in London. Like JP Morgan Chase, DB is probably paying the price for placing too much of its operations in London where it's becoming clear there is a unique banking 'culture'.
Report abuse »
#5
11:20 August 3, 2012 by charlenej
exactly, machinehead. I know lots of people there. They gave London way too much power and then were scared of how much power their London operations had. And then they promoted Jain because of it. It's ridiculous.
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