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#DeutscheBank sacks British chief executive John Cryan

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Deutsche Bank has ousted its British boss John Cryan (pictured) and promoted Christian Sewing, the head of its retail arm, to chief executive following boardroom clashes over the lender’s struggling turnaround effort, write Tom Rees and Anna Isaac.

Mr Cryan will leave at the end of this month, Deutsche Bank announced last night after a meeting of its supervisory board in Frankfurt. Mr Sewing has become chief executive with immediate effect.

Chairman Paul Achleitner said the board had decided to part company with Mr Cryan after just three years following a “comprehensive analysis” that concluded “we need a new execution dynamic in the leadership of our bank”.

Mr Achleitner added: “Despite his relatively short tenure as chief executive, John Cryan has played a critical role in the almost 150 year history of Deutsche Bank – and laid the groundwork for a successful future of the bank.

Pressure had been mounting on Mr Cryan amid criticism of Deutsche’s sinking revenue in its investment banking arm and a botched cost-cutting plan. Mr Sewing, most recently co-head of Deutsche’s private and commercial bank, will be its third leadership change in six years. Mr Sewing has been at the bank since 1989 and will attempt to ­revive the troubled turnaround which has seen Deutsche’s share price plunge 55pc under Mr Cryan’s leadership.
Mr Achleitner said that Mr Sewing would be a "strong and disciplined leader".

Mr Cryan had been at the helm of Deutsche since 2015 and was initially given a contract until 2020 to guide a five-year turnaround plan. The investment banking giant racked up a third consecutive loss in 2017 but would have returned to a profit were it not for a one-off €1.4bn (£1.2bn) charge from Donald Trump’s tax reforms.

Deutsche’s revenue tumble has coincided with a global slump in investment banking. The bank had to abandon its cost-cutting target for 2018 after admitting that the sale of non-core businesses had been hampered by delays with plans to exit Spain, Portugal and Belgium failing to progress last year.

Mr Cryan insisted in a memo to staff last month that he was “absolutely committed” to the top job amid reports that Paul Achleitner, the chairman, was exploring possible replacements. The beleaguered boss admitted that there was still “a lot of work to do” and urged the bank to stick by its cost-cutting plan. Mr Achleitner has remained ­silent as speculation of a management change at the bank has mounted.

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Mr Cryan was previously chief ­financial officer at UBS before leaving to head European operations of Temasek, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund.

Alongside Mr Sewing’s promotion, Deutsche bank also made Garth Ritchie president and sole head of its investment banking arm. He had shared the responsibility with Marcus Schenck, who Mr Achleitner confirmed will leave the bank, having previously been viewed as a candidate for chief executive.

Mr Achleitner said the board “very much regret” Mr Schenck’s decision.

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