Deutsche Bank's new boss Christian Sewing has told employees the challenge ahead "is a big one" with tight time pressure and high expectations from clients, investors and regulators alike.

In a letter to the firm's workers published on the company's site today, Sewing said to get the bank profitable again, he will "take tough decisions and execute them".

Read more: Christian Sewing confirmed as new Deutsche Bank head

He wrote:

It does not need saying that we want to and have to become profitable again. And for that we need to be successful, thats our lifeline.

In sharp contradiction though is how we missed some of our targets for costs and revenues. There may have been good reasons in some cases. But it was damaging for our bank.

The new leadership team will not accept this anymore. Well have to take tough decisions and execute them.

After a meeting of the German lender's supervisory board, Sewing was confirmed as the new chief executive yesterday, replacing John Cryan.

The bank had said it would “take a decision” on the future of the chief executive on a call led by the boards chair, Paul Achleitner.

The call came following the bank's third consecutive year of losses in 2017 since Cryan took over in 2015.

An early priority for the bank will be focusing "less on ourselves and more on our clients", Sewing said, adding that Deutsche Bank's approach should be to offer customers convincing solutions, not just products.

Sewing will be exploring how Deutsche Bank wants to position its investment bank in a tricky market environment, citing the need to further adapt its revenue, cost and capital structure.

"The priority is to leverage our strengths and to allocate our investments accordingly," he wrote. "And at the same time we will look to free up capacity for growth by pulling back from those areas where we are not sufficiently profitable."

Sewing said:

It is also clear that there is no such thing as a free lunch. We will have to fight to succeed and my team and I are ready to do so. Because its worth it! Its time to finally deliver to our full potential.

Read more: Deutsche Bank: Cryan finds it tough at the top of Germany's totemic lender

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CityAM

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Deutsche Bank's new boss Christian Sewing has told employees the challenge ahead "is a big one" with tight time pressure and high expectations from clients, investors and regulators alike.

In a letter to the firm's workers published on the company's site today, Sewing said to get the bank profitable again, he will "take tough decisions and execute them".

Read more: Christian Sewing confirmed as new Deutsche Bank head

He wrote:

It does not need saying that we want to and have to become profitable again. And for that we need to be successful, thats our lifeline.

In sharp contradiction though is how we missed some of our targets for costs and revenues. There may have been good reasons in some cases. But it was damaging for our bank.

The new leadership team will not accept this anymore. Well have to take tough decisions and execute them. (more…)