Deutsche Bank on Monday named a canny Indian investment banker and a German veteran of the old school to run the biggest German bank in tandem from May 2012. Anshu Jain, 48, and Juergen Fitschen, 62, were named joint chairmen of the Frankfurt-based bank to succeed the Swiss Josef Ackermann, 63, when he becomes chairman of the supervisory board.
The board mandates for Fitschen and Jain were also extended for three and five years, respectively, a statement said. Jain, originally from north-west India, currently heads Deutsche's most powerful section, its corporate and investment banking division, which accounts for the lion's share of group revenues and profits. He first cut his teeth at Merrill Lynch in New York before moving to his present employer in London in 1995, and was generally seen as having had a "good" 2008-09 financial crisis, quickly returning his unit to profit. The cricket-mad banker, who captains the bank's team in London, has long been groomed by Ackermann to step into his shoes running a bank so international that half of its 100,000 employees are outside Germany.