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☆ Deutsche Bank human resources head Ilgner to leave bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, June 30 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank's (DBKGn.DE) head of human resources, Michael Ilgner, has decided to leave the bank, Deutsche Bank announced on Friday, the latest in a spate of management changes. It was not immediately clear whether Ilgner's decision to leave was related to the investigation. A Deutsche Bank spokesperson declined to comment on the status of the probe. Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing praised Ilgner as an "important partner" to the management board. Deutsche Bank in recent months has announced a number of board changes, the biggest management reshuffle since 2019.

Persons: Michael Ilgner, Ilgner, Michael, Tom Sims, Victoria Waldersee, Sandra Maler Organizations: Deutsche, Deutsche Bank, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT

☆ Volkswagen's Audi to replace CEO Duesmann with Gernot Doellner
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Companies Volkswagen AG FollowFRANKFURT, June 29 (Reuters) - Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) Audi division will replace current CEO Markus Duesmann on Sept. 1, with Volkswagen strategy chief Gernot Doellner to take over, the carmaker said on Thursday. Reporting by Christina Amann; Writing by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Tom SimsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Markus Duesmann, Gernot Doellner, Christina Amann, Christoph Steitz, Tom Sims Organizations: Volkswagen, FRANKFURT, Audi, Thomson

☆ Volkswagen in discussions with Tesla over its charging standard
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

FRANKFURT, June 29 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) said on Thursday that it was in discussions with Tesla (TSLA.O) over its North American charging standard to optimize it for its customers. "Volkswagen Group and its brands are currently evaluating the implementation of the Tesla North American Charging Standard (NACS) for its North American customers," Volkswagen said in an emailed statement. Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; writing by Tom SimsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tesla, Victoria Waldersee, Tom Sims Organizations: Volkswagen Group, Tesla, North, Volkswagen, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT

☆ Audi names Volkswagen strategy chief Doellner as new CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, June 29 (Reuters) - Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) Audi named the German group's strategy chief as its new CEO on Thursday, as the luxury carmaker seeks to catch up with rivals in the dash towards electrification, including in China, the world's top car market. Gernot Doellner, who replaces Markus Duesmann, will become CEO with effect from September, Audi said, after the luxury automaker's supervisory board passed a resolution on Thursday. Doellner is a Volkswagen Group veteran who joined the company as a doctoral student in 1993 and rose through the ranks to become head of product development at Porsche. He headed up the Panamera series from 2011 to 2018 and became head of product strategy at Volkswagen AG in 2021. "Audi is a fantastic company with a rich history," Doellner said, adding: "I look forward to shaping the company's future together with the entire team at Audi."

Persons: Gernot Doellner, Markus Duesmann, Doellner, Oliver Blume's, Bentley, Peter Bosch, Christina Amann, Jan Schwartz, Ilona Wissenbach, Christoph Steitz, Victoria Waldersee, Tom Sims, Emma Rumney, Hans Seidenstuecker Organizations: Audi, Volkswagen Group, Porsche, Volkswagen AG, Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, Benz, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, China

☆ Germany to reject Binance's bid for a cryptocurrency licence - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this month sued Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao over what the regulator called a "web of deception" to evade U.S. laws. The German regulator, BaFin, issued a statement declining to comment on individual companies due to confidentiality. Last week, Belgium's FSMA regulator ordered Binance to stop offering any virtual currency services in the country. BaFin in 2021 warned Binance it risked being fined for offering certain digital tokens to clients in Germany without necessary information. Reporting by Tom Sims and Tom Wilson; Editing by Sabine Wollrab and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Binance, Changpeng Zhao, Tom Sims, Tom Wilson, Sabine Wollrab, Mark Potter Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Finance Forward, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, Germany, France

☆ Sharp slowdown in growth of bank lending for euro zone and Germany forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Lending to businesses and households in the 20-nation euro zone will expand 2.1% in 2023 and 1.7% in 2024, muted increases after a 14-year high of 5% in 2022, EY said in its lending forecast published Monday. The euro zone meanwhile dipped into recession earlier this year. "While the downturn is expected to be very shallow and short-lived, European markets continue to face high inflation and an unprecedented rise in interest rates. Mortgage lending is a particular area of weakness, with lending set to grow 1.4% in 2023, down from 4.9% in 2022. The ECB's latest lending survey, published in May, also found that lending growth to businesses and households slowed.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, EY, Sinead Cruise, Tom Sims, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: REUTERS, EY, Reuters, Central Bank, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, Europe, Germany

☆ Berlin plans to spend 8 billion euros in package for 60 Boeing Chinook helicopters
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, June 23 (Reuters) - Germany aims to purchase 60 Chinook helicopters from Boeing (BA.N) in a package that would cost up to 8 billion euros ($8.71 billion), including necessary infrastructure for the aircraft, a parliamentary source told Reuters on Friday. The sum includes the procurement of the CH-47 heavy-lift helicopters for 6.27 billion euros, 700 million euros for service, 240 million euros for national contracts and 750 million euros for the infrastructure, the source said, confirming reports by other media. Germany announced its intent to buy 60 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters from Boeing (BA.N) last year to replace its ageing CH-53 fleet. Originally, six billion euros had been budgeted for the helicopters. Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz shifted policy in February 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine, sharply increasing defense spending and committing 100 billion euros for the Bundeswehr, Germany's armed forces.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Sabine Siebold, Maria Sheahan, Tom Sims Organizations: Boeing, Bundeswehr, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, Germany, Russia, Ukraine

☆ German unions criticise possible Deutsche Bank job cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, June 23 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank's (DBKGn.DE) reported plans for possible job cuts at its German retail operations were roundly criticised by a union on Friday, foreshadowing tough labour negotiations ahead. "One can only shake one's head at Deutsche Bank, once again," Stephan Szukalski, chairman of the DBV bank union, said as Claudio de Sanctis prepares to take over as head of the German retail business on July 1. Reuters GraphicsDeutsche Bank declined to comment on any job cut plans or the union reaction to reports of them. The reduction in retail jobs is in the planning phase and still subject to discussions with unions and worker representatives, Reuters has reported. Deutsche Bank has in the past announced job cuts that never materialized.

Persons: Stephan Szukalski, Claudio de Sanctis, Szukalski, Verdi, Tom Sims, Friederike Heine, Alexander Smith Organizations: Deutsche, Deutsche Bank, Reuters Graphics Deutsche Bank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, Germany's

☆ Commerzbank to book further provision for mBank after court ruling
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, June 23 (Reuters) - Germany's Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) said on Friday that it would book another provision of 342 million euros ($372.27 million) following a court ruling on how banks treat Swiss franc loans in Poland. The new figure means that Commerzbank, which has extensive operations in Poland through its mBank (MBK.WA), has provisioned or made payouts of more than 2 billion euros to deal with the issue. The bank said the figure would impact its second-quarter earnings but that it still expects a 2023 net profit "well above that of 2022". Polish courts have been deciding how the loans can be treated, including what banks can charge in interest for the loans, creating uncertainty for banks and their bottom lines. ($1 = 0.9187 euros)Reporting by Tom Sims; editing by David EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tom Sims, David Evans Organizations: Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, Poland

FRANKFURT, June 22 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) is drawing up plans to cut 10% of its 17,000 German retail jobs over the next few years as part of cost savings, a person with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday. The plans at Germany's largest bank come as Claudio de Sanctis prepares to take over the retail unit, known as the private bank division, on July 1. Deutsche Bank, which declined to comment on any cuts to retail jobs, has publicly said that it is identifying further cost savings and would be trimming jobs in certain areas to keep profits growing. The bank has been expected to continue to cut branches to curb expenses, Reuters has previously reported. S&P last month upgraded its outlook for the bank and said that the retail division has "considerable scope" to cut costs.

Persons: Claudio de Sanctis, Tom Sims, Matthias Williams, Madeline Chambers, Susan Fenton Organizations: Deutsche Bank, Deutsche, Reuters, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, Germany's, Germany

[1/2] Greenpeace activists hang a banner to protest Deutsche Bank and DWS investment policies on Deutsche Bank's headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, June 14, 2023. REUTERS/Tom SimsFRANKFURT, June 14 (Reuters) - Greenpeace activists scaled Deutsche Bank's (DBKGn.DE) headquarters in Frankfurt on Wednesday and strung up a large yellow banner to protest against the climate investment policies of the German lender and its asset management company DWS. Deutsche Bank said that sustainability and climate protection were "strategic priorities", and that it supports DWS in the development of its sustainability policies and standards. The German-language Greenpeace banner was unfurled shortly after 6 a.m. CEST (0400 GMT) and stretched across part of the glass facade on the lower section of Deutsche Bank's twin office towers. Mauricio Vargas, a Greenpeace finance expert who was standing outside Deutsche Bank's headquarters, said: "DWS's scandal is Deutsche Bank's scandal."

Persons: Tom Sims FRANKFURT, DWS, Stefan Hoops, Mauricio Vargas, Tom Sims, Rachel More, Jamie Freed, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Greenpeace, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Bank's, REUTERS, Deutsche, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany

[1/2] Uday Kotak, Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank poses for a picture at the company's corporate office in Mumbai January 15, 2015. Kotak General Insurance, which is fully-owned by Indian banking giant Kotak Mahindra Bank (KTKM.NS), did not respond to Reuters queries. While the Kotak insurance unit's interest in selling a stake has been reported earlier, its talks with Zurich, the potential deal size and valuation are being reported for the first time. More than 30 companies operate in India's general insurance market, where annual premium collections grew 11% to reach $26.7 billion in 2021-22, helped by rising financial literacy and income levels, CareEdge Ratings said in a report. Already, foreign companies such as Germany's Allianz and South Africa's Lombard have general insurance partnerships with Indian banking or financial groups.

Persons: Uday Kotak, Kotak, South Africa's Lombard, Ergo, Sriram, Tom Sims, Victoria Farr, Aditya Kalra, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Mahindra Bank, REUTERS, Danish, Zurich Insurance, Kotak, Zurich eyeing, Insurance, Asia's, Germany's Allianz, South, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, Zurich, MUMBAI, South Africa's, Europe, China, Frankfurt

[1/2] Greenpeace activists hang a banner to protest Deutsche Bank and DWS investment policies on Deutsche Bank's headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, June 14, 2023. REUTERS/Tom SimsFRANKFURT, June 14 (Reuters) - Climate activists on Wednesday targeted two of the globe's biggest banks - Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) and JPMorgan (JPM.N) - for their fossil fuel investment policies with separate protests in Germany's financial capital, Frankfurt. Greenpeace activists scaled Deutsche Bank's headquarters shortly after dawn and strung up a large yellow banner to protest against the climate investment policies of the German lender and its asset management company DWS. The protests highlight the ongoing tension between climate activists and financial firms. Mauricio Vargas, a Greenpeace finance expert who was standing outside Deutsche Bank's headquarters, said: "DWS's scandal is Deutsche Bank's scandal."

Persons: Tom Sims FRANKFURT, DWS, Stefan Hoops, Mauricio Vargas, KoalaKollektiv, Chuka Umunna, Tom Sims, Rachel More, Jamie Freed, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Greenpeace, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Bank's, REUTERS, JPMorgan, Deutsche, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Europe

☆ German tax fraud mastermind handed further 8-year jail sentence
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Berger had already been sentenced to eight years in jail in December after a similar trial. The public prosecutor had demanded a prison sentence of 10 and a half years and the confiscation of assets. Berger's sentences follow nearly a decade of investigations that government officials say span around 1,500 suspects and 100 banks on four continents. Authorities have raided the German branches of companies including Barclays (BARC.L), Bank of America (BAC.N), JP Morgan (JPM.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) in their investigations. In September, Bank of New York Mellon Corp (BK.N), Germany's Warburg Group and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) said they would pay a combined 60 million euros to tax authorities over the scandal.

Deutsche swapped billions of euros in securities for cash and government bonds, the sources told Reuters, which count towards its liquidity coverage ratio (LCR). This is meant to determine the extent of a bank's access to ready cash to fund outflows such as depositor withdrawals. The trades caught the attention of European Central Bank (ECB) supervisors, who questioned Germany's largest lender about them during routine exchanges, the sources said. Even without the trades, Deutsche would have far exceeded a 100% LCR regulatory requirement and overshot its own target, the sources said, adding that its liquidity is not a concern. Deutsche's trades helped it raise its LCR to 143% at March 31, its first-quarter earnings report published in April showed.

☆ Elliott seeks investigation into Deutsche Wohnen loan to Vonovia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUESSELDORF, May 22 (Reuters) - Activist investor Elliott is calling for a special investigation into a loan that German property company Deutsche Wohnen (DWNG.DE) made to its top shareholder Vonovia (VNAn.DE), documents filed ahead of a Deutsche Wohnen annual shareholder meeting (AGM) show. In 2021, Vonovia completed the takeover of rival Deutsche Wohnen to create a property group with more than 500,000 apartments. In January 2022, Deutsche Wohnen disclosed in a public filing that it would lend up to 2 billion euros to its new main shareholder. Cornwall, an investment vehicle owned by Elliott, wants shareholders to vote to install an independent investigator to examine the loan at the shareholder meeting slated for June 15 to examine whether the loan was in the best interest of investors, the AGM documents show. Deutsche Wohnen's supervisory board said that it did not see any need for an investigation.

FRANKFURT, May 17 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) investors on Wednesday questioned the sustainability of the lender's growth plans and called for a shift of resources from the investment bank, even as they praised CEO Christian Sewing for stabilising the bank. Andreas Thomae of the Deutsche Bank investor Deka said that the bank's targets require a "tailwind" from the markets to be achievable, and rising interest rates have been "pure adrenaline" for the bank. Reuters GraphicsShe called on the bank to shift capital from its investment bank to other areas in the bank that yield higher returns. "Deutsche Bank is one of the European banks most dependent on investment banking, a poorly predictable, opaque business that is driving down its stock valuation," she said. Sewing, who won kudos from some of the investors for restoring profitability, responded that the bank was "robustly and sustainably profitable".

The bank's shares traded 7.3% lower at 0750 GMT, making it the worst performer on the DAX blue chip index. Finance chief Bettina Orlopp told analysts net interest income had probably peaked in the quarter and that further provisions for its mBank unit in Poland were possible. The bank said it sees "upside potential" in net interest income this year, and raised its forecast to 7 billion euros ($7.7 billion) from 6.5 billion. One of Germany's best-known banks, Commerzbank is in the middle of a major overhaul, cutting thousands of workers and hundreds of branches to save costs and lift profits. JPMorgan called the results strong but said the bank's increased guidance for net interest income was below market expectations and "would limit any upgrades" in analyst forecasts.

FRANKFURT, May 17 (Reuters) - Germany's Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) said on Wednesday that net profit nearly doubled in the first quarter, a better-than-expected result helped by higher interest rates. The bank said it sees "upside potential" in net interest income this year, and raised its forecast to 7 billion euros ($7.7 billion) from a previous 6.5 billion euros. Net profit of 580 million euros in the first quarter compares with a profit of 298 million euros a year earlier. Analysts had on average expected profit of 481 million euros, according to a consensus forecast published by Commerzbank. Many banks have reported increases in revenue and profit for the first quarter on the back of higher interest rates.

☆ Deutsche Bank investors raise questions, call for tweaks amid praise at AGM
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, May 17 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) investors on Wednesday questioned the sustainability of the lender's growth plans and called for a shift of resources from the investment bank, even as they praised CEO Christian Sewing for stabilising the bank. The statements, to be made at Deutsche Bank's annual general meeting, come after the bank booked 11 consecutive quarters of profit after years of losses, but also amid bank rescues on both sides of the Atlantic that have shaken confidence in the sector. Andreas Thomae of the Deutsche Bank investor Deka said that the bank's targets require a "strong tailwind" from the markets to achieve them, and rising interest rates have been "pure adrenaline" for the bank. Reuters GraphicsShe called on the bank to shift capital from its investment bank to other areas in the bank that yield higher returns. "Deutsche Bank is one of the European banks most dependent on investment banking, a poorly predictable, opaque business that is driving down its stock valuation," she said.

[1/3] Edwin Gariguez, a Catholic priest from the Philippines, who is touring top European banks on environmental issues, is pictured in Frankfurt, Germany, May 10, 2023. "It's really frustrating on my part," Gariguez said on a stopover in Frankfurt after meetings with Deutsche Bank and DWS (DWSG.DE). Barclays and San Miguel didn't respond. On its website, San Miguel says: "As sustainability champions, we hold ourselves accountable." The nation's Department of Energy sees LNG as a "transition fuel", as it moves away from coal-fired power generation toward more renewable energy.

The European Central Bank has pressed RBI to unwind its highly profitable Russian business, people have told Reuters, and the Austrian bank says it has been working on a solution. "The group will continue to progress potential transactions which would result in the sale or spin-off of Raiffeisenbank Russia," RBI said as it released better-than-expected earnings. In Russia, profit after tax was 301 million euros ($332 million), up from 96 million euros a year earlier. Overall, the Russia business generated more than 40% of RBI's in the quarter. Reuters GraphicsThe Austrian bank has operated in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union and is Russia's 10th-largest bank by assets.

Lenders wasted little time in charging more for loans when interest rates rapidly rose from an almost 15-year slumber around zero last year, but most have dragged their feet on boosting deposit rates paid to millions of their customers. Money market funds are proving popular among savers seeking bigger returns on their cash as high levels of inflation persist. Data from Refinitiv Lipper showed more than 34 billion euros ($37.6 billion) of net flows into European money market funds in March, the best-selling asset type that month. Fidelity International also reported an 8% year-on-year uplift in flows into money market funds on its investment platform between Jan. 1 and April 26. Some lawmakers have criticised banks for the mismatch between what they charge borrowers and the interest rates offered to savers.

☆ Austria's RBI Q1 net profit up better-than-expected 49%
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, May 4 (Reuters) - Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (RBIV.VI), one of the banks in Europe most exposed to Russia, posted a bigger-than-expected 49% rise in profit in the first quarter. Net profit in the quarter was 657 million euros ($724.28 million), up from 442 million euros a year earlier, the bank said. Analysts had expected profit of 528 million euros, according to a consensus published by RBI. RBI provided the figures a day ahead of schedule with little explanation of drivers behind the earnings. ($1 = 0.9071 euros)Reporting by Tom Sims and Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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