Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Bank AG will adopt compensation rules allowing Germany’s biggest bank to claw back bonuses from bankers.

“We will introduce a ‘malus’ system,” Ackermann told students at a financial conference in Frankfurt today. Deutsche Bank already pays a large portion of salaries in shares and bases compensation on long-term performance, he said.

So-called malus systems, derived from the Latin word for ‘bad,’ allow banks to take back payments after they’ve been paid in circumstances such as profitable trades turning into losses.

Governments are facing pressure to curb bankers’ compensation after financial companies were bailed out by taxpayers during the credit crunch. Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank, which avoided taking state aid, and other lenders are required to present new pay policies to German regulators by the year’s end.

Commerzbank AG, Germany’s second-biggest bank, last week said it may withhold bonuses for investment bankers if they fail to meet targets as part of a new pay plan.

To contact the reporters on this story: Aaron Kirchfeld in Frankfurt at akirchfeld@bloomberg.netChristian Vits in Frankfurt at cvits@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 16, 2009 09:42 EST