Deutsche Bank Chairman Defends Decision to Replace CEO

  By Jenny Strasburg

FRANKFURT--Deutsche Bank AG (DBK.XE) Chairman Paul Achleitner defended the supervisory board's decision last month to replace Chief Executive John Cryan, calling the change "unavoidable," in a speech to investors Thursday at the lender's annual meeting.

Mr. Achleitner has come under fire from shareholders for what some view as a botched management changeover reflecting deeper turmoil and strategic uncertainty at the bank.

Management-board conflicts were getting out of hand and stalling important decisions under Mr. Cryan, Mr. Achleitner said Thursday, citing "increasing differences of opinion" in the executive ranks.

Career Deutsche Bank employee Christian Sewing, who replaced Mr. Cryan as CEO after serving as the bank's top retail-banking and senior audit executive, was the supervisory board's "first choice" to fill the top job, Mr. Achleitner said.

Mr. Achleitner said leaks of internal information and speculation accelerated the CEO change in March and April. The supervisory board had hoped to announce a new CEO at Thursday's annual meeting, not April 8 as it ended up doing, Mr. Achleitner said.

He credited Mr. Cryan with improving Deutsche Bank's internal controls and its relationships with regulators. Mr. Cryan also helped the bank boost its capital position and make key decisions such as exiting 10 countries to focus on more important markets, Mr. Achleitner said.

Write to Jenny Strasburg at Jenny.strasburg@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 24, 2018 05:08 ET (09:08 GMT)

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