FRANKFURT - The new chief executives of Deutsche Bank acknowledged Tuesday that the bank suffered from relatively weak capital reserves, excessive dependence on investment banking and a tarnished reputation, and announced an overhaul designed to address these flaws.
Three months after taking over from longtime chief executive Josef Ackermann, Jürgen Fitschen and Anshu Jain, who are sharing the top job, moved to put their mark on Germany's largest bank. They presented an unusually frank assessment of Deutsche Bank's shortcomings and promised to take remedial measures that will include delaying bonuses for top managers.
“Tremendous mistakes have been made,†Mr. Jain said at a news conference. “We can see times have changed and we need to change and change rapidly.â€
His statement came a day before the European Commission is scheduled to present a proposal for a banking union that will shift supervision of institutions like Deutsche Bank from German regulators to the European Central Bank. The plan presented by Mr. Jain and Mr. Fitschen on Tuesday was partly a response to the pressure banks feel from tougher regulations, as well as investigations into allegations of manipulation of money-market rates and other wrongdoing.
Mr. Jain and Mr. Fitschen vowed to push through a change in Deutsche Bank culture that will include tougher sanctions for wrongdoing. “We're in an industry where a small group of people can do irreparable damage,†Mr. Jain said. “We will not stand by and let that happen.â€
Deutsche Bank is among the banks accused of manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate, which is used to set rates on trillions of dollars of financial contracts. Mr. Jain said that the bank is taking the inquiry into Libor fixing “very seriously,†but repeated previous assertions that any wrongdoing was the work of a small group of people and that no members of the management board are implicated.
Mr . Jain, former chief of Deutsche Bank's investment bank, said that the business is simply not as profitable as it once was and that highly paid employees will have to accept more modest compensation. The top 150 managers will receive no bonuses at all for five years, he said, to encourage them to avoid taking excessive risks in the name of short-term gains. They would lose their bonuses if profits fall or they commit wrongdoing.
Addressing a common criticism of the bank, Mr. Jain said that Deutsche Bank's capital reserves, while within regulatory limits, are lower than competitors. He vowed to raise the buffers to the same level as rivals by early next year and significantly higher by 2015.
The banking industry has shrunk since the beginning of the financial crisis and will shrink further, Mr. Fitschen said, requiring the bank to cut costs and reduce the amount of money that it has at risk. The bank had previously announced elimination of 900 jobs, mostly in inve stment banking. On Tuesday, the bank said it would set up a unit for “non-core assets†that will be sold.
Mr. Jain said that, while he is convinced the euro will survive, the economy in the euro zone is likely to grow slowly in the next several years. The bank will seek growth in Asia and the United States, he said.
“We can't deny that in the course of the crisis margins have fallen and funding has become more expensive,†Mr. Fitschen said. “That demands answers on our part that sometimes will be painful.â€
