Deutsche Bank Appoints "Junk Dealer" as CEO

Last week marked the end of an era for Germany's largest bank as Josef Ackermann stepped down after tens years at the helm.  For many, Ackermann personified the greed and arrogance of the "too big to fail" financial institutions, so let's ponder for a moment the legacy of Angela Merkel's birthday boy:  Deutsche Bank, together with Goldman Sachs, played a pivotal role in the 2008 economic meltdown, from which  are still recovering. The bank packaged and sold $billions of subprime mortgages in the US, and, whey they went sour, foreclosed on tens of thousands of homes, earning the title of America's Foreclosure King.  It's foreclosure activities have transformed vast ares of great American cities such as Milwaukee and Cleveland into wastelands.  Nor did German taxpayers fare well during Herr Ackermann's tenure, since Deutsche Bank sold the junk securities to public sector financial institutions such as IKB Bank, which then had to be bailed out when the underlying mortgages defaulted.  And we will remember Josef Ackermann for the mountain of litigation he leaves in his wake: 

Deutsche Bank has also come under fire for what some critics regard as an unusually high number of lawsuits by aggrieved customers or official investigations. In early May, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay the United States government more than $200 million to settle accusations that it had knowingly misled the Department of Housing and Urban Development about the quality of mortgages that later defaulted.

“We are concerned about the number of litigations and investigations which have mounted in the last few years,” said Hans-Christoph Hirt, global head of corporate engagement at Hermes Equity Ownership Services, a unit of Hermes Fund Managers that represents several large Deutsche Bank shareholders.

Did the bank or its board learn anything from the Ackermann era?  Evidently not, since the are doubling down on his unethical course by elevating Anshu Jain - the architect of Deutsche Bank's disastrous US mortgage trading business - as the new (co-)CEO.  Jain is known as der Schriotthändler - the "Junk Dealer": 

Das Institut stellt sich gerne so dar, als sei es der Anwalt seiner Kunden und berate sie objektiv über Chancen und Risiken einzelner Investitionsmöglichkeiten. Doch die internen Dokumente belegen, dass Bankmitarbeiter von der schlechten Qualität eines konkreten Anlageproduktes wussten. Und dass auch der designierte Bankchef Anshu Jain persönlich genau dieses Produkt anbot. Hat Jain dabei seinen Kunden auf die negativen Einschätzungen hingewiesen?

(The institution likes to present itself as if it were the advocate for its customers and advises them on both the opportunities and the risks of specific investment possibilities.  But the internal documents show that bank employees knew very well of the bad quality of an actual investment product.  And the designated head of the bank, Anshu Jain, personally was pushing this very product. DId Jain mention the negative assessment to his customer?) 

The elevation of Jain to CEO is a clear signal that Deutsche Bank intends to continue its reckless pursuit of short-term profits, irrespective of the risk to shareholders and damage to society oat large.  That is why there is a growing outcry from the public: Andere Banken braucht das Land!

Comments

[michijo]

My anti-capitalist mentality has always stood me in good stead against these loan sharks. I was born in an apartment building and still live in. I scoff at the people who were taken by these banks. I hate the American way of life, and proudly say that I have never owned a car or a home. Jews want us to buy these things, so they can rip us off. Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank all have one thing in common: Jewish money-changers.

[Zyme]

:-D

Poor David!

[David]

@Zyme,

Also jetzt reicht's aber! Dieser Idiot geht mir auf die Nerven...

[michijo]

What do the Jews want from us, David?

https://www.db.com/presse/en/content/press_releases_2007_3721.htm

[michijo]

I have noticed for some time, that you complain about people like Ackerman and Bausano and Nazis, but there is some strange blind spot you have: all these guys you complain about are Jews. Are you secretly an anti-semite who is spreading anti-Jewish propaganda in an obtuse way?

[David]

Since all you have to contribute is ignorance and hostility, I ask you to kindly refrain from commenting on this blog.

[michijo]

I am not hostile in the least. I am a very laid-back sort of person with a fairly good sense of humor. I apologize if I have come across as hostile. You didnt laugh slightly when you read:
"What do the Jews want from us, David?" I thought I phrased it perfectly for humorous delivery!

[Hattie]

Cripes! I'm laughing, although it's wrong of me. Can you believe it? BTW: I know an actual Jew who spends almost no money, does not drive and lives in an apartment.
I know a lot of Jews, as a matter of fact. It's much easier to get to know Jews in the U.S. than in Germany, for some reason.

[michijo]

To hell with Germany, Israel, and the USA. Peace.

[michijo]

Sometimes I think Canadians have it really good. Their economy is better. They don't have to be Americans, and they are saved from dealing with Europeans as well.

[Steve]

I agree, good riddance to Ackermann! His tenure was a disaster. As for Jain, apparently he doesn't even know German, which I would have thought was a prerequisite for (co-)heading Germany's biggest bank. The info that he was closely involved with the questionable practises before is even more worrying.