The Deutsche Downsize
For decades, Frankfurt was a place to be for the budding investment banker. However, it’s safe to say that for some time, Deutsche Bank hasn’t exactly been home to reliable and efficient German values. It admitted yesterday it was going into rehab, attempting to curb its Wolf of Wall Street culture before it’s too late. Away with a fifth of the workforce, and in with massive restructuring efforts!
The stock chart tells the tale. Banks are complicated, and so is the story behind the decline of this one. In a nutshell, put it down to a complete bungling from those at the top. Some say it’s a German bank trying to be American, that it’s spun off its identity in a greedy bid to go global, and now that it’s struggling to maneuver in a banking sector no longer trusted by Europe. Investors are fronting the pain, and now desperate times call for desperate measures!
Deutsche Bank’s plans for a big shake-up are no surprise. 91,463 employees are probably too many for a bank due a downsize, and by retreating from stock trading across the world, the 149-year old firm hopes to bring simplicity back to the firm.
Investors up and down the markets will be hoping that these restructuring efforts end in an extreme. If Deutsche Bank can repair itself from within, great! If it can’t, then at least the bank will shrink to the point where it’s no longer a systemic risk to the rest of us anymore. Europe can’t stomach anymore middle-ground shambolics from DBAG anymore, let alone Germany!
Down at record lows, it’s last chance saloon time.
