Ex-Bankers Trust Chairman Resigns from Deutsche Bank

In a widely expected move, former Bankers Trust Corp. chairman Frank N. Newman resigned from Deutsche Bank AG, effective today.

Mr. Newman had been co-head of Deutsche Bank's global corporate and investment banking operations since the Frankfurt based-banking company merged with Bankers Trust on June 4.

As part of the $9 billion deal, Mr. Newman was to head Deutsche Bank's commercial and investment banking with Josef Ackermann, and be considered for membership on Deutsche Bank's senior management committee, known as the Vorstand.

Some sources have said in recent days that Mr. Newman would leave, because he was not offered a spot on the Vorstand.

Mr. Newman, in a telephone interview Tuesday, denied those reports, saying he initiated a meeting with Deutsche Bank chairman Rolf E. Breuer in Paris on Thursday "to discuss the substance of the job" in the future.

"The integration was much further along than we both had anticipated, and I realized that I had made my biggest contribution already," Mr. Newman said. "We both agreed that this (departure) was best for the bank and for me."

Mr. Newman said he planned "some rest and relaxation" for the foreseeable future before deciding what to do next, though he said he has already been contacted about job opportunities.

Some observers said they expect him to retire quietly. Mr. Newman's contract allows him to walk away with at least $55 million in compensation, and some consultants said he could leave with as much as $100 million. Mr. Newman declined to comment. A Deutsche Bank spokesman in Frankfurt said $100 million was "far too high."

Mr. Newman joined Bankers Trust in 1995 after a two-year stint as deputy secretary of the Treasury. Brought in to help clean up after the bank's derivative scandal of the mid-1990s, Mr. Newman helped build up Bankers Trust's investment banking capabilities through the acquisitions of Alex. Brown & Sons in 1997 and the European equity business of National Westminster Bank in 1998.

However, heady profits gave way to steep losses in emerging markets late last year. And the bank's image was further damaged by a scandal uncovered in its securities processing unit earlier this year.

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