Hermes Equity Ownership Services (EOS) along with other disgruntled investors have got the reaction from Deutsche Bank they were seeking.
Deutsche Bank’s co-chief executive officers (co-CEOs), Anshu Jain and Jürgen Fitschen have resigned after Hermes, on behalf of a group of more than 40 institutional investors, urged the supervisory board ahead of and at the annual general meeting on 21 May to review the composition of the management board.
Hermes was unimpressed about the management board’s delivery on key targets set under the bank’s 2015+ strategy, progress on culture change and the way in which it has dealt with pending litigation and investigations.
Hans Christoph Hirt, director of Hermes EOS, says it was becoming increasingly apparent in recent months that refreshment at the top of the management board was necessary in order to regain trust of investors and other stakeholders and thus have a basis for the successful implementation of Strategy 2020, unveiled in late April 2015.
“We welcome the news that the co-CEOs Anshu Jain and Jürgen Fitschen offered to step down yesterday, which the supervisory board accepted, as it facilitates the refreshment of the management board which in our view is necessary,” says Hirt.
Hirt is also pleased with the appointment of John Cryan, who joins as co-CEO at the beginning of next month. Cryan has extensive experience as a banker, he has been chief financial officer at UBS and was elected to Deutsche Bank’s supervisory board in 2013 as a non executive director. He was directly involved in the strategy development process and the approval of Strategy 2020.
“We look forward to the management board providing a detailed explanation of Strategy 2020, and how it will sustainably create value, setting clear short-, mid- and long-term targets and then delivering against these,” says Hirt.
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