Deutsche Bank CEO Sewing prepared to make "tough cutbacks"

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BERLIN, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest bank, is prepared to make "tough cutbacks" in its corporate and investment banking segment, Christian Sewing, chief executive officer (CEO) of Deutsche Bank, announced during the company's annual general meeting (AGM) on Thursday.

Deutsche Bank's compliance area and anti-financial crime unit would be combined with the non-financial risk management in order to "cut duplication, save costs substantially and simultaneously improve controls", Sewing said.

During Sewing's speech on Thursday morning, the share price of Deutsche Bank fell to a new record low below 6.40 euros (7.13 U.S. dollars).

The DAX-listed bank never recovered to pre-crisis levels and was worth less than 14 billion euros on the stock exchange on Thursday. Shortly before the financial crisis in 2007, shares of Deutsche Bank had cost more than 100 euros.

Following the termination of merger talks with Commerzbank in April, it was "top priority" to add value for the bank's shareholders, emphasized Sewing at the Deutsche bank AGM.

The Deutsche Bank CEO wants to "rigorously" focus Germany's largest bank on "profitable and growing businesses which are particularly relevant for our clients".

Although Deutsche Bank had generated profits for the first time since 2014 in fiscal year 2018, shares of Deutsche Bank continued their downward trend in 2019 and lost almost 40 percent within one year.

"We compared the share price last year with a ride in a ghost train," said Deka fund manager Andreas Thomae. Now it had become "a horror film of excessive length".

"It is sad and shocking what happened to Deutsche Bank," said Alexandra Annecke, portfolio manager at Union Investment. According to Annecke, the former German flagship banking institute would now be only "a colossus on clay feet".

Amid the criticism of shareholders and investors, Deutsche Bank's supervisory board chairman Paul Achleitner urged to increase the pace at Germany's largest bank.

"We need to restructure even faster and more radically," said Achleitner in his speech at Deutsche Bank's AGM.

Deutsche Bank chairman Achleitner stressed that Sewing, who had become CEO of Deutsche Bank one year ago, would have been the right choice for the leadership of Germany's largest bank. Enditem

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