Deutsche Slashes Equities Jobs Amid Cost-Cutting

Tom Burroughes

24 May 2018

is shrinking its equity sales and trading business, cutting headcount by about a quarter, with full-time equivalent posts falling to less than 90,000 from 97,000. The announcement made no reference to the German lender’s wealth management arm.

In cash equities, the Frankfurt-listed group said it will concentrate on electronic solutions and its most significant clients globally. In prime finance, the bank will reduce leverage exposure by a quarter, equivalent to a reduction of approximately €50 billion ($58.6 billion), it said in a statement today.

The cuts will cut leverage exposure in the corporate and investment bank of more than €100 billion. This is about 10 per cent of the €1.050 trillion of leverage exposure reported at the end of the first quarter of 2018. The majority of this reduction is expected to be achieved by the end of this year, it said.

The cuts come as the new leadership of Deutsche Bank takes the helm. A few weeks ago, Christian Sewing became chief executive, replacing John Cryan after his turnaround plan for the bank failed to satisfy shareholders. In April, Frank Kuhnke was named as its new chief operating officer, replacing Kim Hammond, who left the bank.

The bank has, meanwhile, been upbeat about its wealth management arm's future. Sewing, speaking at the bank's recent annual meeting, said: "In Germany, Europe and Asia, in the Middle East and America, we’re confident of revenue growth. Today we have more than 200 billion euros under management, and revenues in 2017 were around two billion euros. The market is growing as wealth increases and we have the excellence to participate in that. In many countries, we’ll hire new advisers in a focused manner – while cutting back in other areas, for example through the integration of our private bank in Cologne, Sal. Oppenheim...as far as our private and commercial bank is concerned, I am very optimistic.”