Deutsche Bank is looking at strategic job cuts, UK CEO says

Deutsche Bank AG is looking at ways to cut jobs to ensure it will hit its cost targets, a senior executive said Monday.

The German lender needs to “maintain a laser focus on costs” after promising to keep expenses in check despite rapid inflation, UK & Ireland Chief Executive Officer Tiina Lee said in an interview with Francine Lacqua on Bloomberg TV. That involves “looking to strategically adjust headcount” after some “tactical” cuts last quarter, Lee said.

Lee’s comments echoed Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing, who last week vowed to rein in spending through various initiatives including staff reductions. While Sewing singled out consumer banking activities in Germany as one area where cuts would take place, the trading operations will likely be spared, Bloomberg News has reported.

Deutsche Bank is also planning to grow some businesses and products, “particularly where there are adjacencies to our existing businesses,” Lee said in the interview on Monday. Her wording likely refers to a strategy within the bank of cautiously expanding into new fixed-income trading products by adding just a few people to existing desks.

The German lender, whose fourth-quarter earnings last week missed forecasts, has signaled more cost-cutting measures in an effort to keep expenses at last year’s level in the face of “inflationary pressures.” The bank has previously failed to meet several expense-reduction targets, partly because it reduced headcount much less over the past four years than it initially promised.