Deutsche Bank boss Sewing: “We asked a lot of our shareholders”

Deutsche Bank earned more in 2021 than it has in ten years, but still faces major challenges. CEO Christian Sewing explains his strategy in an interview.

tagesschau.de: Deutsche Bank shareholders are to receive a dividend for the first time since 2018. Is this how you want to keep investors happy?

Christian Sewing: I do think there is some kind of relief. We have to say clearly that we have asked a lot of our shareholders. We have always said that when sustainable profitability is there, we want to give that trust back. We’re doing that, and I think there’s a bit of relief and hopefully joy there too.

Eight percent return as a goal

tagesschau.de: Critics say: The international banks earn significantly more.

Sewing: We are on the way to higher returns. We have always said that the decisive year and the last year of the transformation is this year 2022. At the moment we are on or even above plan. What matters now is that we continue to accelerate growth while working efficiently. All measures have been taken for this. That is why we believe and are firmly confident that we will achieve the eight percent return on equity. This brings us very close to our European competitors, and from there we can continue to catch up globally. But we’re certainly competitive again and that’s a really strong position to start with.

tagesschau.de: After presenting the balance sheet, it’s time to get back to work. What are your biggest construction sites at the moment?

Sewing: We have a clear strategy. We have four clear business areas, we know exactly where we can grow, but we also know exactly where we can certainly become more efficient. This is what we have to work on every day now. The fact that we are positioned in this way and that past successes show that we are on the right track, and that means that the momentum in the bank is there, whether it is in the shops or in the infrastructure units. If we keep this discipline, I’m very confident that we’ll achieve our goals again this year.

“Giant Transformations in Business”

tagesschau.de: Has the banking industry benefited from the corona pandemic?

Sewing: First of all, I think it is important for society as a whole, the German and European economy, to see that the banks were part of the solution to this pandemic. That’s exactly where we wanted to go, that we support the economy, that we finance the economy, and I think that gives us tailwind for the tasks ahead. The pandemic is one thing, but we will have gigantic transformations in the economy. It is important to have strong banks there that can finance this transformation. That’s what we want at Deutsche Bank. Therefore, the positive momentum and the positive response that the banks have received during the corona pandemic are certainly a good sign for the future.

tagesschau.de: Do I understand correctly that by transformation you mean that banks provide loans to help companies with change?

Sewing: Among other things. Not just with loans, but also with advice. Almost every customer conversation, especially with companies in Germany, but also in Europe, certainly has a component to the question: How do we change? How can we finance this? It’s not just about loans, it’s about bonds, it’s about capital, but it’s also about real expertise. What does this mean for specific industries? Fortunately, we already put sustainability on our agenda as a central management issue in 2019. We are in enormous demand from our customers, and that’s why I believe that we can provide enormous support here.

tagesschau.de: Such a conversion not only costs money, but also a lot of staff. How does the future development look like?

Sewing: I think it’s very difficult to give long-term future prospects here. But of course technology is a point that automates many work processes, including at Deutsche Bank. This always has an impact on our jobs, but we must not forget that an enormous number of new jobs will be created. We are looking for employees, especially in our technology area. We are trying to internalize many of the employees we currently employ externally. Therefore, there is not just one direction. The fact that we unfortunately also have to go through job cuts in the search and with the goal of fortunately finding efficiency on the right path, is unaffected.

tagesschau.de: Can Corona be described as a digitization accelerator?

Christian Sewing: Yes. It has proven to be a digitization accelerator, because customers simply act differently with us. There are basically two major trends. On the one hand, the standard business, whether that is in the private customer business or in the corporate business – there is more and more digitization. Customers also demand modern solutions, and that’s why we invest. But what we are also seeing, and we are particularly pleased about this, is the renaissance of banking, the renaissance of banking advice. Especially in the times we are in today – geopolitical uncertainties, inflation, but also Corona – the demand for advice from customers is enormously high. A bank like Deutsche Bank can position itself well with the expertise that we have globally, but also here in Germany in particular.

tagesschau.de: So does that mean there will always be a local advisor you can shake hands with?

Sewing: There will always be.

The interview was conducted by Stefan Wolff, ARD stock exchange studio.