Deutsche Bank Names Citigroup's James Von Moltke Chief Financial Officer -- 4th Update
April 28 2017 - 10:06AM
Dow Jones News
By Jenny Strasburg
Deutsche Bank AG named Citigroup Inc. Treasurer James von
Moltke, a former investment banker, as its new finance chief on
Friday.
Mr. von Moltke, 48 years old, has been Citigroup's treasurer
since September 2015, based in New York.
The German banking giant expects him to start in July, replacing
CFO Marcus Schenck, who will move over to co-head the investment
bank and trading businesses.
Born in Heidelberg, Mr. von Moltke attended boarding school near
Munich before studying philosophy and German literature at the
University of Oxford. He has spent 25 years in banking, in Europe,
Asia and the U.S., the last eight of them at Citigroup. This will
be his first job in Germany.
Mr. Schenck was promoted to president and co-deputy chief
executive in March, along with retail-banking executive Christian
Sewing, reporting to Chief Executive John Cryan. Mr. von Moltke
will join them on Deutsche Bank's management board, becoming its
11th member.
Citigroup CFO John Gerspach told employees in an internal memo
Friday that Mr. von Moltke was leaving. The U.S. bank named Joe
Bonocore and Loretta Moseman as interim treasury co-heads,
according to the memo, which was reviewed by The Wall Street
Journal. Its contents were confirmed by a spokeswoman.
Mr. von Moltke started his career at Credit Suisse First Boston
in London and worked at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Morgan
Stanley before joining Citigroup in 2009. He was initially head of
corporate mergers and acquisitions, working to sell brokerage
services and other assets and oversee acquisitions for the bank. In
2012, he became global head of financial planning.
As Deutsche Bank CFO, he will face pressure to meet intensive
cost-cutting and financial targets, as the lender attempts to
revive its results in its biggest businesses. Deutsche Bank
completed an $8.5 billion capital increase in April through its
third share sale since 2013.
Other areas Mr. von Moltke will tackle include risk management
in Deutsche Bank's big derivatives book, often cited by analysts as
one of the industry's most complex. Deutsche Bank also has to
contend with the intricacies of German accounting rules and
translating them for investors and clients outside the country.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank is still in restructuring mode, almost
two years after reshuffling most of its senior management under Mr.
Cryan and overhauling its biggest businesses, including the
investment bank.
Mr. von Moltke's experience at Citigroup during its
restructuring after the financial crisis, including his work on
companywide financial strategy, was a key factor in Deutsche Bank's
hiring decision, according to a person briefed on the matter.
At Citigroup, Mr. von Moltke oversaw efforts to find buyers or
joint-venture partners for assets the bank shed after the
crisis.
Mr. von Moltke's investment-banking résumé includes time
advising financial-technology clients, including as head of Morgan
Stanley's financial-technology advisory team.
He will continue at Citigroup for a period before moving to
Frankfurt with his family, according to a person familiar with his
plans.
Write to Jenny Strasburg at jenny.strasburg@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 28, 2017 09:51 ET (13:51 GMT)
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