Deutsche Bank chiefs bow to pressure and waive bonuses

Lender came under fire in January over reports it planned to pay more than €1bn in bonuses despite being pushed to its third consecutive annual loss and job cust

The Deutsche Bank chief executive John Cryan and the lender came under fire for bonuses amid job cuts. Ralph Orlowski / Reuters

Top managers at Deutsche Bank will forego their annual bonuses, chief executive John Cryan said, after coming under fire for awarding big incentive payouts even though Germany’s largest bank lost money last year.

Mr Cryan was quoted by the Zeit weekly as saying the 12-member executive board would not get bonuses for 2017, but variable compensation would be paid to other staff as planned.

At a Zeit event at the South by Southwest tech conference in the United States, Mr Cryan said the bonus pool would be "significantly higher" than the €546 million (Dh 2.46 billion) paid in 2016 but below the €2.4bn awarded the year before.

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Deutsche Bank came under fire in January over reports it planned to pay more than €1bn in bonuses despite being pushed to its third consecutive annual loss due to the one-off impact of a US tax reform.

With Deutsche still struggling to return to the black under the stewardship of the 57-year-old Briton, the generous pay awards irked many in Germany as perceptions grow that wealth is increasingly being concentrated in the hands of the super-rich.

At the same time, Deutsche Bank is slashing its headcount, having reaffirmed plans to cut 9,000 jobs from 2015 levels, around one in 10 staff globally, with 4,000 expected to go in Germany.

A spokeswoman for Deutsche Bank confirmed that the Zeit report was accurate. The bank will detail executive compensation when it publishes its annual report on Friday.