KBL boss Juerg Zeltner's seat in Deutsche Bank's boardroom may be short-lived: Germany's regulator doesn't believe the private banker is independent enough.
The former UBS top private banker returned to the industry with a new project in spring, but also quietly took a seat on the battered German's champion's board in August, as finews.com reported. Now, Juerg Zeltner may end up leaving Deutsche Bank, the «Financial Times» (behind paywall) reported.
The nub of Zeltner's issue at Deutsche is that the European Central Bank, as well as German overseer Bafin, don't believe the private banker is independent enough. Zeltner, who left UBS two years ago, also holds a significant investment in KBL, a 72 billion euro ($79 billion) wealth manager in Luxembourg owned by Qatar's al-Thani family.
KBL, Deutsche Rivalry
If Zeltner leaves the body, it would be an embarrassing setback to Deutsche's efforts to bulk up in wealth management with the help of an industry veteran of his caliber. «We will not accept symbolic solutions that just involve Mr. Zeltner leaving the room when certain matters are discussed,» the «FT» quoted one official saying.
Under German law, board members don't have to be approved by regulators, but the overseer can veto appointments after the fact. The ECB and Bafin have not yet decided whether to formally do so, according to the report. At KBL, Zeltner is refashioning into a partnership in the mold of Switzerland's Pictet.
