FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Deutsche Bank AG (DB) Chief Executive Officer John Cryan hasn't yet met with one of the bank's top investors but plans to do so, a spokeswoman reportedly said Sunday.
'Of course' it will happen, the spokeswoman for Deutsche Bank said, when asked about a meeting between Cryan and Adam Tan, the head of HNA Group Co., a Chinese conglomerate that bought a 9.9 percent stake in the bank this year. Cryan has been avoiding a meeting with HNA, irking Supervisory Board Chairman Paul Achleitner, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
Cryan is facing skepticism about a strategy that was unveiled in March around the time HNA was increasing its stake. Achleitner had helped attract the company as an investor, a person familiar said Sunday. HNA said in May that it had raised its stake to 9.9 percent from 3 percent in February, making it the bank's largest investor.
Two attempts to arrange a meeting between Cryan, 56, and HNA have failed, report said citing a person familiar with the matter. The strategic overhaul announced in March was underpinned by a rights offer that hauled in 8 billion euros for Deutsche Bank.
Cryan told people close to him that he would prefer not to meet with HNA executives, the WSJ reported. The report also said some senior executives at Deutsche Bank have occasionally gone directly to Achleitner, 61, to garner support for important decisions, rather than dealing with Cryan.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX