Deutsche Bank board takes small bonus cut over third-party messaging – sources

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank’s management board members are each taking a 75,000 euro ($78,795) cut in compensation to accept responsibility for employee use of third-party messaging applications at the lender, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

The move by the 10 board members is voluntary and intended to send a cultural signal at the bank after weaknesses in the implementation of policies to prevent the use of unauthorized messaging apps, the people said.

The cut in 2021 pay is small for Deutsche Bank’s Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing, who earned 8.8 million euros last year, a 20% increase from a year earlier.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has opened a broad inquiry into how Wall Street banks are keeping track of employees’ digital communications.

The Financial Times earlier reported the development.

($1 = 0.9518 euros)

(Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Edmund Blair)