Deutsche Bank Americas head expected to leave: sources

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank's head of the Americas, Tom Patrick, is likely to leave the bank, possibly by the end of the year, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

The change comes as Germany's largest lender restructures its U.S. business and struggles with regulators.

A U.S.-based spokeswoman for Patrick declined to comment.

Deutsche Bank has made a raft of senior management changes this year, including its chief executive officer, as the bank seeks to become profitable after three years of losses.

Patrick was appointed under Deutsche's previous chief executive John Cryan. Deutsche has since announced plans to streamline its U.S. operations, and it has failed a U.S. Fed stress test.

Pressure is also growing on Sylvie Matherat, Deutsche's Frankfurt-based chief regulatory officer, amid growing internal criticism, said two people with knowledge of the matter.

No move was expected, however, at the bank's next supervisory board meeting in early December, said one of the people. The supervisory board makes decisions on senior management changes.

A spokeswoman for Matherat declined to comment.

Last week, Matherat sought to distance Deutsche Bank from scandal-hit Danske Bank, Denmark's largest bank, which is facing allegations of money laundering through its Estonia branch.

Matherat said the German lender played only a secondary role as a so-called correspondent bank for Danske, limiting what it needed to know about the people behind the transactions.

The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported on Tuesday that Deutsche Bank was weighing a shakeup that could result in Matherat's departure.

Matherat had expressed unhappiness with what she described to some associates as constraints on improving financial-crime controls and mending Deutsche Bank's relationships with regulators, The Journal said.

Germany's financial watchdog - BaFin - has asked Deutsche Bank to provide information on its dealings with Danske, a person close to the matter said last week.

Christian Sewing became CEO in April with the mission of making the bank profitable again and improving its reputation after years of financial problems, as well as hefty fines for its role in the U.S. mortgage crisis and a trading scheme that allowed money laundering from Russia.

On balance, analysts expect Deutsche to post a net profit for 2018, its first since 2014, according to a consensus forecast report on the bank's website. But revenue is expected to decline this year and next.

Deutsche Bank's shares were down 0.5 percent at midday in Frankfurt, marking a 46 percent decline so far this year.

The personnel debate comes even as some outsiders grow more confident in the board under Sewing.

"There was a tremendous degree of arrogance on Deutsche Bank's management board, but that's not the case now with Sewing and the others on the board," said a senior banker in Frankfurt.

"I fully back them and even like them all," said the person, who competes with Deutsche Bank and is also a customer. "They should be given the time they need to turn the bank around."

(Reporting by Tom Sims and Andreas Framke, editing by Louise Heavens and Adrian Croft)