D-day: Can Anshu Jain take Deutsche Bank to new heights?

Anshu Jain has taken over as the first India-born co-chief executive of Deutsche Bank, marking the beginning of a new era in the German lender’s 142-year history amid hopes that he would take the orgainsation to new heights globally.

One of Jain’s main tasks as the co-CEO will be to build up Deutsche Bank as one of the world’s top 14 banks, a goal set by outgoing Chairman Josef Ackermann, but never realised, observers said.

He will also have to make sure that while building up investment banking as its core business, retail banking will not be neglected, they added.

[caption id=“attachment_328882” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Jain played a central role in building Deutsche Bank’s investment-banking business over nearly two decades as it reached beyond its commercial-banking roots. Reuters”]  [/caption]

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Jain, 49 and his co-CEO Juergen Fitschen assumed office a day after the annual shareholders meeting in Frankfurt. Ackermann, 64, handed over the reins of the largest German bank to his two management board colleagues at Thursday’s meeting which lasted late into the night. A Swiss national, he helped build the bank during the last 10 years as Germany’s only globally operating financial institution.

Now, Jain and his co-CEO need to work on consolidating that postition, observers said. Jaipur-born Jain’s success in investment banking brought him to the co-CEO post and it is likely that he may take over complete charge of the second largest European bank when Fitschen’s term expires in 2015.

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London-based Corporate and Investment Banking division headed by Jain until now contributed to more than two-thirds of Deutsche Bank’s annual profit in the past few years. His contract lasts until March 30, 2017.

Jain and Fitschen were given a warm welcome by over 7,000 shareholders when they were introduced by Supervisory Board Chairman Clemens Boersig, who played a key role in their nomination over a year ago.

He said he was confident that the duo will build a good team and steer the bank successfully through the difficulties it will be facing in the coming years.

In the run-up to the change of leadership at the Deutsche Bank, there has been a growing view that Jain may revert the bank’s emphasis from retail banking to investment banking. He will also have to deal with court cases in the US, which accuse Deutsche Bank of misleading investors about the quality of the sub-prime mortgage credits and mortgage-based securities it marketed.

Ackermann said in his farewell address Jain and Fitschen will continue to build up “this great institution” and he wished them success.

He said he is worried about the current economic situation in Europe, debt crisis and the lack of readiness among some eurozone nations to implement reforms.

Meanwhile, Boersig will be replaced as chairman of the supervisory board by Paul Achleitner, management board member of insurance group Allianz.

PTI