Deutsche Bank plans to hold an extraordinary supervisory board meeting this weekend where it will discuss candidates to succeed chairman Paul Achleitner, according to people briefed on the matter.
A decision on the successor could come as soon as the next few days, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.
A spokesperson for the Frankfurt-based lender declined to comment.
Deutsche Bank is under pressure from the European Central Bank to ensure a timely succession for Achleitner, whose term ends in May, and would like to agree on a candidate by the end of November, Bloomberg has reported. A formal nomination may not be announced until the spring, when the lender sends shareholders an invitation to its annual meeting.
The bank has been conducting an external search for a new chairman after two existing Deutsche Bank supervisory board members — Deutsche Boerse Chief Executive Theodor Weimer and Bayer Supervisory Board Chairman Norbert Winkeljohann — indicated that they may not be available for the role. Achleitner had privately touted the two as potential replacements.
The new chairman would take over just a few months after Chief Executive Christian Sewing is set to present a strategy update that will spell out his vision for the bank, following a four-year turnaround during which the lender exited equities trading and slashed thousands of jobs.
Achleitner took the role more than nine years ago and has overseen a steep decline in the share price under a succession of CEOs. He came under severe criticism from shareholders several years ago, when doubts about the lender’s course peaked, but a recovery over the past two years has eased pressure.
