Deutsche Bank investors urge bank to keep lid on costs
Investor Concerns Highlighted at Annual Shareholder Meeting
By Tom Sims and Philipp Krach
FRANKFURT, May 28 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank investors on Thursday called on the German lender at its annual shareholder meeting to keep a lid on costs, with some pledging to vote against a motion to raise pay for the bank's chairman.
Return to In-Person Meetings and Financial Recovery
The meeting, the first in-person gathering since before the coronavirus pandemic started in 2019, follows one of the bank's biggest annual profits in years as it recovered from a string of crises.
Calls for Cost Discipline
"What matters now is strict cost discipline. Those who keep their costs under control reduce their dependence on the macroeconomic environment," said Alexandra Annecke, portfolio manager with Union Investment.
Demands for Improved Efficiency
Andreas Thomae of Deka Investment called on management to improve efficiency.
Profitability Over Growth
"Growth is important, but profitability is even more important," Thomae said.
Both said they would vote against a motion that would increase the pay of the bank's chairman.
Debate Over Chairman's Pay Increase
The proposal up for a vote on Thursday includes changes that would increase the annual compensation of Deutsche Bank's chairman, Alexander Wynaendts, to 1.4 million euros, a nearly 50% increase, which the bank said reflects the "considerable workload and the increased complexity of the tasks."
Investor and Advisory Responses
Institutional Shareholder Services, which makes recommendations to investors on how to vote, said that the pay package was broadly aligned with big global banks, but investor Thomae called it "definitely too high."
Concerns About Public Perception
"This sends the wrong signal to the bank and to the public," he said.
(Reporting by Tom Sims and Philipp Krach, Editing by Friederike Heine and Linda Pasquini)
