Deutsche Bank ex-executives said to forfeit half bonuses in deal

[LONDON] Ten former and one incumbent executive board member of Deutsche Bank AG are set to forfeit about half of the bonuses that have been suspended and half of the payments still to vest, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

The lender's supervisory board is close to agreeing the deal and an official announcement could happen as early as today, several people said, asking not to be identified talking about the private negotiations.

The lender has been seeking to persuade the former executives to help pay for billions of dollars in fines the lender had to pay because of past misconduct.

Supervisory board Chairman Paul Achleitner said at the bank's annual general meeting in May that an agreement with the 11 men was nearing.

Responding to a question from a shareholder at the AGM, Mr Achleitner said that the bank is currently withholding bonuses worth 7.27 million euros (S$11.57 million) and 161,029 share awards from ex-co CEO Anshu Jain, as well as 4.64 million euros in cash payments and 124,160 share awards from ex-CEO Josef Ackermann.

He did not name any other former board members, nor did he specify how much in total bonuses has been suspended.

The bank declined to comment.

In return for giving up millions of euros in bonuses, the former executives will receive assurances from the bank that it will not draw a link between them and the various legal cases the bank has been and still is involved with.

The bank would also renounce the right to file damage claims against them, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

The amount of foregone bonuses will vary depending on the position held by the former board member in question, individual contracts, the length of their tenure on the board and to what extent bonuses have been suspended or have not vested yet, the people said.

Former CEOs Josef Ackermann, Anshu Jain and Juergen Fitschen as well as former chief financial officer Stefan Krause would give up the most in terms of bonuses given their former positions and length of tenure, one person said.

BLOOMBERG