Deutsche Bank is starting another round of job cuts as Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing doubles down on efforts to lower expenses and lift profitability.
The new measures are expected to exceed a previous round of cuts unveiled six months ago, when Sewing announced that 800 senior roles would be eliminated, he told analysts on Wednesday. The German lender's headcount has grown by more than 4,000 this year, despite the April announcement.
Sewing said he expects headcount to decline from here as he seeks to meet a promise to cut expenses below 62.5% of revenue by 2025. High inflation, including wage gains, as well as a number of idiosyncratic issues — from costs to fix client service problems to expense overruns at an IT project — have made that goal harder to reach.
The cuts announced in April have since been implemented and will result in more than €100 million in annual savings, Sewing said on the call. He indicated the lender is also looking to cut spending on consultants and marketing as a way to save money.
Deutsche Bank's expenses were up 7% in the first nine months of the year and the lender said Wednesday it expects the full-year to be "slightly" above the €20.4 billion euros seen in 2022. The cost-to-income ratio stood at 72.4% in the third quarter.
Sewing said he may choose to cut bonuses if that's necessary to meet his expense goals. Revenue from trading fixed-income securities dropped 12% in the first nine months of the year. The unit tends to account for the lion's share of the lender's overall bonus pool.
