The financial services industry lost one of its most prominent members over the weekend – former co-CEO of Deutsche Bank Anshu Jain died at the age of 59 after a long battle with duodenal cancer.
Indian born Jain had been co-CEO of the bank from 2012 to 2015 and was appointed to its management board in 2009. He was responsible for the corporate and investment bank division from 2010.
Jain, who was the first non-European to lead the German institution, has been credited with helping transform Deutsche Bank’s investment-banking business from a sleepy German bank into a global trading powerhouse. When Jain became co-CEO in 2012 alongside Jürgen Fitschen, the investment-banking division he ran accounted for about 75% of the bank’s profits.
However, there was shareholder unrest over weakening profits, increased expenses, pressure from regulators, and clashes with Deutsche Bank’s Frankfurt headquarters which led him to leave two years before his contract was up.
The bank which faced heavy scrutiny in 2012 over accusations of manipulating Libor, paid a record $2.5 billion penalty in 2015 to settle allegations in the US and UK.
Four years later the German bank agreed to a $7,2 billion settlement with the US Justice Department over the sale of mortgage securities in the years leading up to the financial crisis.
Despite the challenges, Jain’s efforts to turn Deutsche Bank into a true competitor in the US was recognised and praised.
In a statement released on Saturday, Deutsche Bank said Jain was “instrumental in building the company’s global capital-markets business.”
“Anshu Jain played a key role in expanding Deutsche Bank’s position in our global business with companies and institutional investors,” Alexander Wynaendts, chairman of the supervisory board at Deutsche Bank, said.
After Deutsche Bank, Jain joined Cantor Fitzgerald in 2017 in the newly created role of president. He helped oversee the firm’s strategy and help it expand in fixed-income, equities trading and prime brokerage.
Jain’s work in the industry has been distinguished by a number of global awards and honors, including an honorary doctorate from Teri Technical University in New Delhi and an honorary doctorate from the London Business School.
He is survived by his wife, Geetika, his mother, a son and a daughter.
