Deutsche Bank has been on a firing spree over the past two years, with the group’s restructuring plan now in full swing. As a result, the lender has seen stabilized earnings, less than six months removed from a staggering -$6.8 billion loss for 2016, prompting investor panic.
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However, one segment of Deutsche Bank has seen a sizable uptick in hires, its Compliance unit. Despite seeing the loss of thousands of jobs, albeit relegated to the back-office and IT space, the compliance unit has brought in nearly 370 personnel and anti-financial crime staff over the past year, swelling the overall headcount up to 3,000.
This contrasts strongly with the course of action pursued by the rest of the bank. Since October 2015, Deutsche Bank unveiled a plan that would axe upwards of 35,000 jobs over the next few years across its global operations – the announcement at the time was the first in a wave of strategies adopted by other lenders in a bid to reduce costs.
The climb in hires to its compliance unit does coincide with the group’s brush with regulatory authorities over the past year. Deutsche Bank is still facing a potential landmark fine from US regulators. Last month, the bank dodged a fine from the US Department of Justice.
However, the Federal Reserve and DFS are expected to be concluding their investigations shortly, bringing to light their own reviews of Deutsche Bank’s conduct with regard to its FX market practices. It is still unknown what level of fines or settlements, if any, will be levied, though Deutsche Bank is certainty expecting some level of monetary penalty.
