Over the years there were many senior executives that led Deutsche Bank, providing a strategic direction which never seemed to change - reduce expenses again and again. Getting raises, bonuses and promotions was always difficult. This direction led to moving U.S. dollar processing and account balances to servers in Germany, outsourcing work to vendors and lower cost areas in India, accompanied by a loss of qualified experienced staff in the U.S. The results - complaints by clients, increased risks and scrutiny by regulators. Eventually, clients left and regulators questioned the lapses in controls, which lead numerous fines including $630 million for Laundering Russian Money, $2.5 billion for the U.S. and U.K. plus €725 million for Libor Interest Rate Scam, $258 million for Violation of US Economic Sanctions, $7.2 billion for the Sale of Toxic Securities Leading up to the Financial Crisis and $205 million for Violations of New York Banking Laws stemming from Foreign Exchange Trading Business. The value of the stock declined from $150 in 2007 to the $8.00 neighborhood today.
When people ask me about The Big Short (2015) in reference to Deutsche Bank, I reply Independence Day (1996) is a more appropriate representation, where aliens came to take all available resources and wreak havoc before they move on to the next target.
