Deutsche Bank CEO Criticizes Pace, Consistency of German Reforms

Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing urged the German government to step up reforms and do more to roll back employment protection in an interview with Bild am Sonntag.

Reforms to date have been insufficient and too slow, Sewing told the newspaper. While Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition “has recognized what needs to be done,” it needs to improve “in terms of the speed and consistency of implementation,” he said. “And we mustn’t always resort to compromises.”

The two-party government of Christian and Social Democrats also must tackle things “that we’ve naturally all grown fond of: job protection,” he said. “And not because I don’t want to protect people. But we simply live in such a fast-paced world that we have to think much more flexibly. That also means having the ability to react more quickly.”

Sewing suggested lowering the threshold for job protection to below the current €180,000 ($202,000) in annual salary. He also said the outcome of recent state elections in Germany that saw the rise of right and left-wing extremists “is anything but conducive to economic growth” and poses “a significant risk for Germany.” The development “is extremely dangerous. And all the more reason for us to ensure that we implement reforms for growth from within the democratic center.”