Deutsche Bank bosses to forego bonuses after third annual loss
FRANKFURT: Top managers at Deutsche Bank will forego their annual bonuses, chief executive John Cryan said, after coming under fire for awarding big incentive payouts even though Germany's largest bank lost money last year.
Mr Cryan was quoted by the Zeit weekly as saying the 12-member executive board would not get bonuses for 2017, but variable compensation would be paid to other employees as planned.
At a Zeit event at the South by Southwest tech conference in the United States, Mr Cryan said the bonus pool would be "significantly higher" than the €546 million (S$885 million) paid in 2016 but below the €2.4 billion awarded the year before.
Deutsche Bank came under fire in January over reports it planned to pay more than a billion euros in bonuses despite being pushed to its third consecutive annual loss due to the one-off impact of a US tax reform.
The generous pay awards irked many in Germany as perceptions grow that wealth is increasingly being concentrated in the hands of the super-rich.
At the same time, Deutsche Bank is slashing its headcount, having reaffirmed plans to cut 9,000 jobs from 2015 levels, around one in 10 staff globally, with 4,000 expected to go in Germany.
A spokesman for the bank confirmed that the Zeit report was accurate. It will detail executive compensation when it publishes its annual report on Friday. - REUTERS
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