Deutsche Bank U.S.A.

Deutsche Bank U.S.A.

Deutsche Bank AG is expected today to unveil for its employees a major reorganization of U.S. operations. The German giant, which employs about 950 people in the United States, will consolidate its various lending, capital markets, securities brokerage, and consumer finance operations into one central unit, sources said.

An American will be selected to head the overall organization. A source close to the bank said the decision to "Americanize" the operations follows a worldwide policy to put local executives in charge of regional operations.

"They are adding a very large dose of America to that German culture by making things less hierarchical," he said. "The organizational chart is basically what will be hit over the head."

The various U.S. units of Deutsche Bank now operate independently of each other, with their own management staffs.

The new management plan is expected to put a greater number of Americans in key positions and impose a structure more like that of J.P. Morgan & Co. and others with successful corporate and investment banking franchises, the source said. Deutsche Bank hopes that the new organization will help it win clients from some troubled U.S. banks and, possibly, start new business lines.

The reorganization is not expected to cause dramatic changes in staff size. In fact, according to several bankers Deutsche Bank's New York branch has been searching for the past several months for a person to head loan syndication and for a senior capital markets professional. Douglas Byers, the former syndicate head and a seven-year veteran of the bank, was named in April to run human resources. Mr. Byers, 35, would not comment on the reorganization, except to say that an announcement might be made this fall.

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