By Eyk Henning 

FRANKFURT--Deutsche Bank AG Friday said it slashed the compensation for its co-chief executives, Anshu Jain and Jürgen Fitschen, to a total of EUR6.6 million ($7 million) in 2014, down from EUR7.5 million a year earlier, even though the giant German lender improved net profit.

"We were disciplined regarding compensation," Mr. Fitschen said in a video statement. The compensation of the entire management fell to EUR35.3 million from EUR38.5 million.

Deutsche Bank's supervisory board, headed by Paul Achleitner, has frozen the payment of millions of euros in bonuses to current and former senior executives to reflect the risks from legal investigations, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal in October. The measure is part of a broader effort to change the management culture at Germany's largest bank. The move also comes in light of many legal disputes the bank faces, which are set to increase litigation costs.

In 2014, Deutsche Bank's net profit rose to EUR1.7 billion from around EUR700 million the previous year on the back of improved investment banking results and lower litigation expenses. Germany's largest lender by market value, however, still lags behind many rivals in terms of profitability, and analysts believe the bank won't meet its financial targets for this year and next. Deutsche Bank in its annual report acknowledged the difficulties amid higher regulatory costs and low interest rates. The bank is currently working on a strategic overhaul to improve profits and share price.

In a joint statement, Messrs. Jain and Fitschen said, "We are aware the road ahead is challenging; we are now working diligently on the next phase of our strategy," which will be presented in the second quarter.

The compensation of Deutsche Bank's chief executives compares with UBS AG's Sergio Ermotti, who received nearly 11.2 million Swiss francs ($11.1 million) in total compensation for last year, up from 10.7 million francs in 2013. In the U.S., Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s Lloyd Blankfein, who so far has the largest pay package of major U.S. bank executives, was awarded $24 million for 2014, up from $23 million a year earlier. J.P. Morgan's James Dimon pocketed a flat $20 million.

Like many of its rivals, Deutsche Bank is under investigation for alleged manipulation of interbank lending rates or foreign exchange markets, potentially resulting in several billions in fines.

Overall, Deutsche Bank faces 180 regulatory investigations and 1,000 lawsuits with a claim value of above EUR100,000 each, Chief Financial Officer Stefan Krause said last May. Legal fees and settlement payments have cost the bank more than EUR5 billion over the past two years. They have squeezed profits and hampered the bank's efforts to strengthen its capital buffers.

Write to Eyk Henning at eyk.henning@wsj.com

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