London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 03, 2025

Deutsche Bank chairman urged to step down by US private equity firm Cerberus

Deutsche Bank chairman urged to step down by US private equity firm Cerberus

Cerberus has lost faith in Achleitner and its desire for change has increased since merger talks with Commerzbank failed earlier this year, according to the sources.
Achleitner took over as chairman of Deutsche Bank in 2012 and its share price is down more than 73% since then. Separate sources within the bank, who also wanted to remain anonymous, have told CNBC there are growing frustrations over the failed Commerzbank merger and an unsuccessful return to profitability.

U.S. private equity firm Cerberus is hoping to replace Deutsche Bank Chairman Paul Achleitner, two sources confirmed to CNBC on Tuesday.

Cerberus has lost faith in Achleitner and its desire for change has increased since merger talks with Commerzbank failed earlier this year, according to the sources. The private equity firm has a 3% stake in Deutsche Bank.

The German bank has declined to comment on the story which first reported by the Financial Times. However, two people familiar with the matter told CNBC on the condition of anonymity that Cerberus was indeed pushing for the 63-year-old chairman to be replaced.

Germany’s flagship lender has been in the news for all the wrong reasons — from settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice, to management reshuffles, weak earnings, massive fines, constant restructuring, merger speculation and steep stock price falls.

In the past, Deutsche Bank’s other big shareholders have raised concerns about the bank’s failing strategy and have called for a reshuffle of the board. In May, Deutsche Bank’s proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) called for shareholders to vote against the board, citing a series of scandals resulting from the bank’s failure to uphold anti-money laundering controls and causing reputational and monetary damage.

The FT has also reported that the lender’s other large shareholders – members of the Qatari royal family, funds managed by former J.P. Morgan Chase executive Doug Braunstein and asset manager BlackRock – have concerns about Achleitner’s performance.

Achleitner took over as chairman of Deutsche Bank in 2012 and its share price is down more than 73% since then. However, the sources told CNBC that he is keen to stay on until the end of his term in order to oversee Deutsche Bank’s 150th anniversary next year. Achleitner’s term is due to end in 2022.

Achleitner has presided over a number of management changes at Deutsche Bank, from co-CEOs Anshu Jain and Jürgen Fitschen to John Cryan and now Christian Sewing. Separate sources within the bank, who also wanted to remain anonymous, have told CNBC there are growing frustrations over the failed Commerzbank merger and an unsuccessful return to profitability.

However, ousting a chairman of the board is not easy in Germany. The shareholders will either need to wait until the next annual general meeting, which takes place in May 2020, or form a majority to call in an extraordinary shareholder meeting. For now, the pressure is building on the board to recalibrate its strategy.

Deutsche Bank has been under pressure for a number of years to trim its investment banking division. The bank reported massive losses in the third quarter of 2019, with a 5% fall in investment banking revenues from a year ago. Investment banking is a specific division related to the creation of capital for other companies, governments and other entities.

In July, Deutsche Bank announced it will cut 18,000 jobs for a global headcount of around 74,000 employees by 2022. The bank aims to reduce adjusted costs by a quarter to 17 billion euros ($19 billion) over the next several years.

Shares of Deutsche Bank were up 1.8% on Tuesday morning but are down more than 20% over a 12-month period.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×