Deutsche Bank paid 'risk takers' $3 bn in bonuses

Deutsche Bank AG, Germany’s biggest bank, paid euro 2.2 billion ($3 billion) in bonuses last year to employees who can conduct “high-risk” business.

The lender’s “risk-taker population,” or “employees who can create high-risk positions,” received euro 921 million in cash bonuses, euro 961 million in deferred equity awards and euro 317 million in restricted incentive awards, according to the company’s compensation report published today. The bank, which declined to identify how many employees are defined as risk takers, gave the group euro 367 million in fixed pay.

Chief Executive Officer Josef Ackermann’s pay rose more than sixfold last year to euro 9.55 million after the Frankfurt-based company returned to profit, helped by a rebound in trading. The bank paid its 77,000 employees compensation and benefits of euro 11.3 billion, or an average of euro 147,000 per worker, down 14 per cent from 2007, it said today.

The risk-taker population included 28 business heads in the group executive committee and management board members and managing directors at selected subsidiaries, the bank said.

Ackermann, 62, has warned of a regulatory and political “backlash” if his industry doesn’t change its pay practices. Deutsche Bank is deferring more bonuses, aligning rewards with longer-term success and enabling pay to be clawed back to bring the bank’s compensation policy into line with the guidelines of the Group of 20 nations.

Governments in Europe and the US are facing pressure to limit bankers’ compensation after some financial firms were bailed out by taxpayers. Deutsche Bank didn’t need state aid during the credit crisis.

The German bank hasn’t published overall bonus payments to bank employees.