Deutsche Bank CEO Says Staff Are `Sick and Tired' of Bad News

(Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Bank AG’s newly-appointed Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing tried on Friday to boost staff morale in a letter after the German lender suffered a double whammy over the past 24 hours.

“Many of you are sick and tired of bad news,” Sewing said a letter to staff on Friday. “That’s exactly how I feel. But there’s no reason for us to be discouraged.”

S&P Global Ratings cut the German lender’s credit rating earlier and the bank’s shares also closed at a record low on Thursday after media reports that U.S. regulators had put Deutsche Bank’s operations in the country on a list of problem banks last year due largely to inadequate internal controls.

“Yes, our share price is at a historic low,” Sewing said. “But, we’ll prove that we have earned a better valuation on the financial markets. We’ve achieved a lot we can be proud of. We have reduced risks by billions of euros, we have strengthened capital and we have reorganized our bank. We can tick those boxes.”

His comments come as employees await the outcome of sweeping job cuts Sewing is pushing through amid a large-scale restructuring of the investment bank division. The reductions may include one-fifth of the U.S. staff, people familiar with the matter said on May 9.

“We need to look forward,” the chief executive said. “My management board colleagues and I will work with all our strength to repay that trust – with promises that are kept, better results and fewer headlines.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Ambereen Choudhury in London at achoudhury@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ambereen Choudhury at achoudhury@bloomberg.net, Geoffrey Smith

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