How appropriate. On the day Deutsche Bank announces a radical restructuring of its business, Jürgen Fitschen, the bank's co-CEO, appears in a Munich court on charges of lying under oath:
"Adding to the damage, Mr. Fitschen, the co-chief executive, must appear in court in Munich on Tuesday with four former top managers of Deutsche Bank to stand trial on charges they gave false testimony in a civil suit. The lawsuit was brought by a German media company that accused the bank of driving it into bankruptcy."
But lying to authorities has been the modus operandi of Deutsche Bank, at least since the era of former CEO Kurt Ackermann. The bank lied about its role in the LIBOR manipulation scheme and then actively obstructed the ensuing investigation. The bank will pay $2.5 billion in punitive fines just in connection with the LIBOR scandal. In fact, the bank has been forced to pay out more in fines and legal fees than it has raised in new capital over the past 5 years.
Gone are the days when Deutsche Bank dreamed of joining the ranks of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as a Wall Street powerhouse:
Deutsche Bank ranks sixth worldwide measured by investment banking revenue. The top five are all based in the United States: JPMorgan, Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citigroup. In the United States market alone, Deutsche Bank is a mere ninth among investment banks.
Roy C. Smith, a professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University, said that Deutsche Bank’s best hope to compete with its American rivals would be to split off the investment banking activities. But that was not the plan presented on Monday..
But Deutsche Bank still has not acknowledge the illegal activity it engaged in during the 2008 - 2011 global financial crisis. And it will never acknowledge this until the current co-CEO's and the entire board of managing directors are forced out.
One could make the case that Deutsche Bank is a criminal enterprise:
Sicher: Banker (männlich wie weiblich) sind regelmäßig gepflegt und hübsch angezogen. Sie ähneln kaum Drogen- und Menschenhändlern, Rockern oder anderen zwielichtigen Gestalten. Damit sind die Akteure der Finanzwelt aber noch nicht aus dem Schneider. Nach dem in Deutschland vorherrschenden Verständnis reicht für die Annahme Organisierter Kriminalität im Wesentlichen die planmäßige Begehung von Straftaten aus.3 Nach einer anderen Auffassung bezieht sich der Begriff auf kriminelle Organisationen, also Gruppen mit „formaler Struktur“. Schließlich könnte man auch die Ausübung von Macht als das zentrale Element Organisierter Kriminalität sehen, ausgeübt durch Kriminelle alleine oder in Allianz mit anderen Kriminellen und/oder Angehörigen der gesellschaftlichen „Eliten“. Im Hinblick auf die zweite genannte Variante erscheint Organisierte Kriminalität als ein systemischer Zustand, gekennzeichnet durch die Korrumpierung der verfassungsmäßigen Ordnung im Zusammenwirken von Unterwelt, Wirtschaft und Politik.
Insbesondere das „Vorbild“ Deutsche Bank regt zu intensiveren Diskussionen über den Begriff „Organisierte Kriminalität“ an.(Sure, bankers (both male and female) are usually well-groomed and well-dressed. They hardly look like your average drug dealer or human trafficker, rockers or other shady characters. But looks can be deceptive. Under prevailing understanding of German law, it is sufficient to assume organized crime exists with the deliberate commitment of crimes. Another interpretation refers to the concept of criminal organizations - groups with a "formal structure". One could assume the imposition of power as a critical component of organized crime, carried out by criminals in concert with other criminals or members of a social elite. With respect to the second variation, organized crime is a systemic condition, characterized by the corruption of the constitutional order with the collusion of the underworld, economy and political structure. In particular, the "model" of Deutsche Bank inspires a more intensive discussion of the concept of "organized crime." )
If found guilty of giving false testimony, Herr Fitschen faces years in prison. If there were true justice, he would be joined in prison by his co-CEO, Anshu Jain, who ran Deutsche Bank's investment banking division during the period when criminal behavior was widespread.
Instead, Herr Jain will no doubt receive a seven-figure bonus.
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