• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

3

Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

3

Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place
FinanceBanks

New Deutsche Bank CEO needs to look forward, not into his past

By
Stephen Gandel
Stephen Gandel
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Stephen Gandel
Stephen Gandel
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 8, 2015, 8:23 AM ET
A man walks past Deutsche Bank offices in London
A man walks past Deutsche Bank offices in London.Photogrpah by Luke MacGregor — Reuters
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

In 2012, Deutsche Bank appointed Anshu Jain co-CEO because the Indian-born Wall Streeter had made the German company into an investment banking powerhouse.

On Sunday, Deutsche announced that, after three years of dismal returns at the bank, Jain would be leaving, and appointed Briton John Cryan as the company’s next CEO. (Jain’s co-CEO Jurgen Fitschen is leaving as well.)

The German mega-bank could be about to make the same mistake twice.

Cryan, a former chief financial officer of UBS, gets good reviews from his time at the Swiss bank. But like Jain, he is an investment banker. And even those who admire Cryan don’t see him as a change agent. Reuters reports that insiders and analysts told Reuters that Cryan is likely to stick to Deutsche Bank’s current game plan.

That could be a problem. What Deutsche Bank needs is a major shake up. The bank has announced plans to slightly scale back its investment bank and spin off its Post bank retail banking division. Many have criticized the plan for not being aggressive enough. Deutsche Bank is one of the few large European banks to stick with investment banking at a time when the business is generating very low returns, especially in Europe. Credit Suisse recently ousted CEO Bradley Dougan, a former investment banker, in favor of Tidjane Thaim, the former head of insurance firm Prudential. Barclays, which bought the remains of Lehman Brothers after the financial crisis, is now slashing its investment bank. Last week, HSBC said it too is cutting its investment banking division in order to boost returns.

UBS, Cryan’s former employer, also pursued a radical overhaul, exiting much of its investment banking operation. But that restructuring started in 2012 after Cryan left the bank. Cryan was most recently with Singapore state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd., and has been a member of Deutsche Bank’s board.

Deutsche Bank could benefit from being one of the few remaining large players in investment banking in Europe. It has always been a dominant player in the bond business, making most of its money in rates trading, essentially a business model built around capturing differences in interest rate spreads. But with many European bonds in negative interest rate territory, or hovering at all-time lows, there isn’t much interest rate spread to capture these days. And the European Central Bank’s bond buying and the current state of the Eurozone economy is likely to hold rates low in Europe for a while.

What’s more, large U.S. investment banks such as Goldman Sachs are searching for more business, and they have been anxiously waiting to jump into Europe when things improve. Few are jumping yet. In the U.S., Deutsche Bank has long tried to break into the top ranks of investment banks, but remains far behind its Wall Street rivals.

Profitability has dropped for all major banks since the financial crisis, in part because of increase regulation. But investment banking has plunged more than traditional banks. And that’s particularly true in Europe. Deutsche Bank’s return on equity has slumped to a pathetic 3.1% recently. Most major U.S. banks have ROEs in the low double digits. The banks that focus on lending, such as Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank, have the highest ROEs these days.

Some banks have done OK generating lower returns as long as they can convince investors that the bank is safer than it was in the past. But Deutsche Bank hasn’t been able to do that. Earlier this year, Deutsche Bank failed its U.S. stress test — which is supposed to measure if a bank can weather a financial downturn — by a very wide margin. And its stock currently trades a price-to-book value of 0.6, meaning that investors think the bank has a good deal of assets that have a high risk of being worth much less than the bank says they’re worth.

In order to turn itself around, Deutsche Bank needs to show it can be much safer, or much more profitable. If it stays in investment banking, accomplishing either of those tasks will be hard to do.
[fortune-brightcove videoid=4278647740001]

About the Author
By Stephen Gandel
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Finance

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Finance

mr
Commentary250 Years of Innovation
America needs 3.8 million manufacturing workers. This CEO has a blueprint to find them
By Mark RayfieldJuly 1, 2026
1 hour ago
OCBC rolls out its ‘avatar banking’ platform with ‘Wendy’ and ‘Wayne,’ two virtual financial advisors, as banks integrate AI into wealth management
AsiaSingapore
OCBC rolls out its ‘avatar banking’ platform with ‘Wendy’ and ‘Wayne,’ two virtual financial advisors, as banks integrate AI into wealth management
By Angelica AngJuly 1, 2026
1 hour ago
Top CD rates today, July 1, 2026: Lock in up to up to 4.40%
Personal FinanceCertificates of Deposit (CDs)
Top CD rates today, July 1, 2026: Lock in up to up to 4.40%
By Glen Luke FlanaganJuly 1, 2026
2 hours ago
Today’s top high-yield savings rates: Up to 5.00% on July 1, 2026
Personal FinanceSavings accounts
Today’s top high-yield savings rates: Up to 5.00% on July 1, 2026
By Glen Luke FlanaganJuly 1, 2026
2 hours ago
Photo: Rocks balancing on driftwood, sea in background.
AIMarkets
Leveraged stock bets are ‘very concentrated in the AI ecosystem,’ Goldman Sachs warns
By Jim EdwardsJuly 1, 2026
2 hours ago
Current refi mortgage rates report for July 1, 2026
Personal FinanceReal Estate
Current refi mortgage rates report for July 1, 2026
By Glen Luke FlanaganJuly 1, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
6 days ago
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
Success
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
By Preston ForeJune 27, 2026
4 days ago
Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place
Success
Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place
By Sydney LakeJune 29, 2026
2 days ago
'Humanity has chosen to become idiots': This Brown professor switched to take-home exams after a mass shooting and discovered mass cheating
AI
'Humanity has chosen to become idiots': This Brown professor switched to take-home exams after a mass shooting and discovered mass cheating
By Catherina GioinoJune 29, 2026
2 days ago
The U.S. Army is opening military bases to private billions — here's why that changes everything for the next 250 years
Commentary
The U.S. Army is opening military bases to private billions — here's why that changes everything for the next 250 years
By Marc AndersenJune 30, 2026
1 day ago
The retired college professor fighting a $313 trespassing ticket in Wisconsin thinks he's part of a national struggle
Environment
The retired college professor fighting a $313 trespassing ticket in Wisconsin thinks he's part of a national struggle
By Catherina GioinoJune 28, 2026
3 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.