Deutsche Bank CEO invests 15% of monthly pay in bet on shares

Frankfurt: Deutsche Bank AG’s Christian Sewing is making good on a promise to put his money where his mouth is.

The chief executive officer will invest 15 per cent of his monthly net salary in the lender's shares, starting with a €22,144 ($24,303) investment on August 30, Deutsche Bank filings show. That goes beyond standard practice at German companies, where senior executives are frequently awarded stock as part of their bonuses.

Sewing kicked off Deutsche Bank's biggest overhaul in recent memory earlier this year after attempts by his predecessors failed to restore the globally-important lender to profitability. The bank has yet to convince investors that it can meet goals for raising revenue in businesses it wants to keep, while exiting stock trading and firing staff across the firm.

The stock purchase program runs from September 1 to the last day of 2022 and depends on Sewing continuing as a member of Deutsche Bank's management board, according to the filings.

Deutsche Bank pays its CEO €3.4 million a year in gross salary as well as bonuses that are determined by the individual and the company's performance, according to its annual report. Sewing held 73,237 Deutsche Bank shares as of February 15 this year, according to the most recent annual report.