FRANKFURT â€" Anshu Jain, co-chief executive of Deutsche Bank, had barely spoken two sentences to shareholders Thursday when he was interrupted by applause. It wasn’t what he said that pleased the audience so much as the language he used: German.
Mr. Jain, a native of India who has been criticized in the past for his lack of proficiency in the local language, surprised the audience of some 10,000 shareholders by delivering two pages of prepared remarks in somewhat halting, but comprehensible, German.
But shareholders’ attention quickly turned to the myriad problems that the bank has been trying to shake, including lawsuits and official investigations.
The allegations that Deutsche had participated in a conspiracy to rig international benchmark interest rates was ‘‘the biggest breach of trust one can imagine,’’ said Klaus Nieding, vice president of a German shareholder advocacy group. ‘‘It’s the same as if you were distributing counterfeit money.’’
Paul Achleitner, the chairman of the Deutsche Bank supervisory board, replied that the law firms hired to conduct an internal investigation had found ‘‘no grounds to doubt the integrity of senior management.’’
The bank’s annual meeting, held at Frankfurt convention center, is usually a polarizing event, reflecting Deutsche Bank’s status in Germany as a source of national pride for some and a symbol of capitalist greed for others. As in past years, numerous shareholders used the gathering to voice their dismay about bank policies.
Outside the meeting, protesters shouted into megaphones, handed out leaflets and waved placards in a cold, occasionally heavy rain. Some erected tents in the style of the Occupy movement. One shirtless man had painted his chest and back with the Deutsche Bank logo and an insulting slogan.
A few moments after Mr. Jain won applause over his speech in German, he was interrupted by hecklers who were escorted away by security guards. Mr. Jain later turned the podium over to Jürgen Fitschen, the other co-executive, a German who gave a longer speech in his native language.
Shareholders took issue with bonuses to its senior managers than dividends to shareholders. ‘‘Bonus payments are not understood by the public and damage the reputation of the bank,’’ said Ingo Speich, a fund manager at Union Investment, a Frankfurt firm. Mr. Fitschen acknowledged that the bank had made mistakes in the past and promised to instill a stronger sense of ethics among employees.
‘‘In some cases we have been pilloried justifiably,’’ Mr. Fitschen said, though he added, ‘‘We can’t give in to everyone who thinks they can skewer Deutsche Bank.’’
Hans-Christoph Hirt, director of Hermes Equity Ownership Services, which represents the interests of pension funds and other large investors, said he welcomed the push to raise ethical standards. But he added that he still needed to be convinced that the efforts ‘‘will lead to concrete changes in the behavior of employees.’’
