The abrupt departure of Juerg Zeltner from Deutsche Bank’s board may not be the end of it for Germany’s largest bank: Chairman Paul Achleitner has come under pressure from a major shareholder angry about the development.
The decision by Juerg Zeltner to yield to a demand from regulators that he should give up his post at Deutsche Bank due to a potential conflict of interest with his role at KBL has upset the Al-Thani family, the rulers of Qatar, a major shareholder of Deutsche.
Zeltner was Qatar’s representative on the board of Deutsche Bank and the family is blaming Chairman Paul Achleitner for the damaging development.
Search for Successor
The Austrian banker, whose term expires in 2022, may yet have to step down at the upcoming annual general meeting of 2020, according to a «Reuters» report. Achleitner had to present a suitable successor by then, the news agency added.
One candidate for the positions would be Theodor Weimer, the head of the German stock exchange, who seems to enjoy the support of the Al-Thani family. Weimer’s contract at the exchange operator expires at the end of 2020.
Decline in Value of Investment
Qatar owns about a tenth of Deutsche Bank through two funds. The billions it spent on the stake have dwindled since it bought the shares in 2014, with the stock losing about 70 percent of its value since.
