Is Deutsche Bank really racist?

15 June 2011

2 minute read

Deutsche Bank's careers website states it plainly: "Join us and you'll become part of a culture that nurtures talent, embraces diversity and rewards outstanding performance."

If this is the case, why won't it appoint Anshu Jain as its chief executive?

As Jain's Investor Worksho made clear last week, Deutsche's corporate and investment bank - for which Jain is currently responsible - has done very well in recent years, gaining share in most all market areas (with the notable exception of Asian investment grade DCM) so that it occupies a top three or five position in almost all the markets in which it operates.

Why, therefore, can't Jain be like Bob Diamond - Bob who also started out as chief executive of the investment bank and now manages the whole show over at Barclays?

People are positing something sounding very much like racism.

Today's New York Times cites Lutz Roehmeyer, a large Deutsche shareholder and portfolio manager at LBB Invest in Berlin as saying:

"In Germany, no one can imagine an Indian working in London who does not speak German being the CEO of Deutsche Bank."

Roehemeyer goes on to say that Jain deserves to run Deutsche, thereby giving him his support, but he's been pointing out for a while that Jain's nationality might be an issue.

At best, it seems Jain might be able to hope for some kind of power sharing agreement with a bona fide German. The Financial Times recently quoted Nomura analyst Jon Peace as saying that a dual CEO structure with Jain focused on internal management and Axel Weber (former president of the Bundesbank) would be best all round.

Would it? There are plenty of non-Germans on Deutsche's executive committee, but what kind of message does it send to non-German employees across Deutsche Bank if a high-performing and able individual can't be chief executive mostly for reasons of his nationality?

Or is Deutsche simply being pragmatic?

Barclays' appointment of an American investment banker as its CEO has inflamed public opinion and made it a lightening rod for criticism in the UK. Is Deutsche simply trying to mitigate the risk that making Jain CEO will make it a political target in Germany? If you have any comments, we'd like to hear them.

AUTHORSarah Butcher

Global Editor

47 comments

Ex
Ex-deutsche emp.
24 April 2014
Everyone on Wall Street knows that Jain truly runs the bank? Or at least the most dynamic/profitable part of it - the CIB.
Just watch any of their townhalls and you'd know. He knows the numbers , drives the strategy.
That being said, in the City, behind all the "meritocracy smoke", what you get in business is what you (can) negotiate for -- not what you truly deserve. May be Wall Street is a little bit more immune to this phenomenon hence Bob and Vikram were a bit more lucky.
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Mu
Multi Cultural Society Rules
29 September 2011
No such thing as the west anymore, it's the west and the east. Globalisation my friends.
Just like the best football teams apart from Barca.
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De
Deutsche Employee
25 June 2011
Deutsche's official language is English (you must converse in English while conducting business at Deutsche all over the globe). Germany has no race/sex discrimination laws except those that the EU forced upon it. I work for them and they are the biggest bigots I've ever experienced in my 30 years in the work force. Shameful. If the UK has discrimination laws that Anshu can exploit -- he should do so.
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Sy
Symona
23 June 2011
Gosh, I wish I would have had that inoframtion earlier!
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Ph
Philipp
16 June 2011
Many posts here have already pointed it out: It is Jain's lack of German cultural background and language ability that disqualify him from this job. Not his ancestry.
Philipp Rösler, Vice Chancellor of Germany was born Vietnamese, adopted and raised in Germany. He was elected by the FDP as the chair and currently occupies the second highest office of the land, as Angela's deputy and as a Vietnamese German. This speaks volume about our diversity.
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