Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing said he will buy stock in the German lender, amid a massive restructuring and cull of 18,000 jobs. He is not the first to attempt a show of confidence by intermingle the personal and professional.
Christian Sewing's initial attempts to rein in Deutsche Bank's costs and restructure the bank failed to help its share price rebound. Fifteen months into the CEO job, Sewing is now set to take even more drastic action including the exit of the global equity business and slashing of 18,000 jobs.
«I’ve decided to invest a substantial amount of my fixed salary over the next years,» Sewing told analysts during a conference. «I want to lead by example. I am personally putting my money where my mouth is.»
Sewing's move to bolster confidence follows similar purchases at UBS and Credit Suisse. Last year, UBS boss Sergio Ermotti bought 1 million UBS shares worth a total of $13 million, almost exactly one annual salary.
Swiss Bankers Splash Out
Credit Suisse's C-suite, including Chairman Urs Rohner and CEO Tidjane Thiam, bought shares worth $6.2 million after the Swiss bank's investor day. Sewing didn’t share any specifics of his investments, saying details would be disclosed in the bank’s next quarterly report.
«No one is more disappointed than I about our share price. It is our responsibility—our duty—to demonstrate Deutsche’s core value,» he said. Sewing also claimed that he would put a significant share of his fixed salary in the bank’s shares. Last year , Sewing earned a total of 7 million euros ($7.9 million), of which 3.3 million euros were his base, or fixed, salary.
