Deutsche Bank’s Domestic Woes Risk Making It an Also-Ran
CEO Christian Sewing needs to focus on retail banking at home.
Ready to chop: Christian Sewing, chief executive officer of Deutsche Bank.
Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg
Deutsche Bank AG is getting closer to the profit and payout targets it set for 2025 — it might even hit them, no small feat for a bank that has consistently underwhelmed investors. But for the rest of this year, the focus will increasingly turn to whether the German lender can kick on and produce stronger, sustained returns in future. Right now, it looks more likely to plateau.
Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing dropped hints at the bank’s full-year results on Thursday that he would cut more businesses that drag down the group. He should look into the ever-disappointing German retail business, particularly because rivals for investor attention aren’t standing still.