Deutsche Bank CEO eyes 'smaller, leaner' operation
Anshu Jain, co-CEO of Deutsche Bank, told CNBC the German lender will be a "smaller, leaner more resilient bank" and a front runner against its European peers following the overhaul of its banking operations.
Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBK-DE) announced the revamp Monday, after being hit with a fine totaling $2.5 billion over alleged interest rate manipulation last week.
Outlining its "next phase of strategy" Monday, the bank said it planned to transform its operating model by "reducing complexity, increasing controls and boosting efficiency."
The German lender said it was targeting savings of 3.5 billion euros ($3.8 billion) annually, but that this would cost a one-off 3.7 billion euros to achieve.
Deutsche Bank shares slipped 4.9 percent in the morning session on Monday and Jain told CNBC that the stock movements weren't the reaction the bank was looking for.
"We're not going to judge our strategy based on a one-day reaction," he added.
He also explained that further legal costs "clearly" remained a risk but said that the long term cultural change program that he has introduced would reduce the possibility of similar charges in the longer term.
In the much-anticipated statement, the bank outlined plans to deleverage its corporate banking and securities division, cutting 200 billion euros in investment banking assets.
Jürgen Fitschen and Anshu Jain, the bank's co-chief executive officers, said the lender needed to "avoid trying to be all things to all people" in a statement.
"Our strategy review process was thorough and rigorous. We consulted key stakeholders and carefully evaluated different models. As a result of our strategy review, we are convinced that pursuing a focused client-centric business model is the right choice for us. This business model, which is unique to Deutsche Bank, will get us closer to our roots," they added.
Deutsche Bank said it would close 200 branches across its network by 2017, and planned to reduce the number of countries it operated in by 10-15 percent.
It comes after the bank become the eighth major lender to settle alleged interest-rate rigging.
The penalty will see the bank pay $600 million to the New York State Department of Financial Services, $800 million to the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, $775 million to the Justice Department and £227 million ($340 million) to the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority.
Over the weekend, Deutsche Bank said its first-quarter profit had fallen on the back of the legal charges. Quarterly net profit fell to 559 million euros compared to a year ago, despite a 24 percent rise in revenue driven by an increase in client trading activity.
Group revenue rose to a near record 10.4 billion euros, driven by its investment bank. But the bank said its pre-tax contribution fell by more than half due to litigation and regulatory expenses and currency swings.
- Reuters contributed to this report.
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