Deutsche Bank seeks pre-mature replacement for CEO Cryan: report

BERLIN, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Deutsche Bank wants to replace its chief executive officer (CEO) John Cryan two years before his current contract expires, the newspaper "Times" reported on Tuesday.

According to the report, the relationship between Cryan and board chairman Paul Achleitner has "broken down" due to Deutsche Bank's poor financial performance in recent years. Cryan assumed the post of CEO in 2015, vowing to reform the investment bank with an ambitious corporate restructuring program until the end of his contract in 2020.

Deutsche Bank is Germany's largest financial institute measured by the size of its balance sheet and employees 43,000 employees in the country. The bank has been rocked by a series of international scandals since the 2007/08 financial crisis surrounding diverse allegations of fraud which have harmed its reputation and profitability.

In March it was revealed that Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank had suffered annual losses of 735 million euros (916 million U.S. dollars) in 2017, taking the total figure of cumulative annual loses since 2015 to 9 billion euros. Cryan more than doubled bonus payments to staff during the same period, however, prompting widespread outrage in German media.

Citing a company insider, "Times" reported that Achleitner was prompted by the recent development to approach Goldman Sachs deputy chairman Richard Gnodde and offer him Cryan's job. Gnodde reportedly declined, leaving Unicredit CEO Jean Pierre Mustier and Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters as potential alternative candidates.

Deutsche Bank has so far refused to provide any comment on the report. Enditem