DB Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

By Jenny Strasburg 

Deutsche Bank AG's top executives will forgo bonuses for a third consecutive year, Chief Executive John Cryan said at a technology and music conference in Austin, Texas, a spokesman said Saturday.

Mr. Cryan's comments, made Friday night at Austin's South By Southwest, came after the German lender last month reported a third consecutive full-year loss. Despite the loss, Deutsche Bank's total 2017 employee bonus payout will more than triple the previous year's EUR546 million, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Deutsche Bank, like other banks, was hit last year by a big charge tied to the U.S. tax overhaul. The bank's charge of EUR1.4 billion left it with a full-year net loss of around EUR500 million. In 2016, Deutsche Bank had a full-year loss of more than EUR1 billion. It has been beset by disappointing trading and investment-banking results, overall revenue declines and struggles to cut costs and retain talent.

Mr. Cryan's bonus comments were first reported by German newspaper Die Zeit.

Mr. Cryan said at the bank's February press conference that he supports bonuses for the 12-member management board, which includes him, and he reiterated that view in Austin, a spokesman said Saturday. The CEO believes that he and other senior executives have made progress and need to own more shares to be more closely aligned with the bank's interests, the spokesman said. Bonuses for senior executives are necessary to motivate other executives to aspire to the top roles, Mr. Cryan also said.

But ultimately the top executives should be held accountable for last year's loss, even though the bank would have reported around EUR900 million in net income without the tax charge, according to the spokesman's account of Mr. Cryan's comments in Austin.

The bank's management board can opt to waive their bonuses, which ultimately are set by the supervisory board. Deutsche Bank employees expect to receive bonuses this month.

The lender is also expected to announce as soon as Sunday the pricing of shares for a partial public offering of its asset-management business, according to people close to the process. Mr. Cryan spent much of the past week meeting with investors, including in New York, before flying to Austin, people familiar with the matter said.

Write to Jenny Strasburg at jenny.strasburg@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 10, 2018 18:00 ET (23:00 GMT)

Deutsche Bank Aktiengese... (NYSE:DB)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024

Deutsche Bank Aktiengese... (NYSE:DB)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024