Anshu Jain, the Indian-born banker who helped transform Deutsche Bank from a largely domestic lender into a global financial giant, has died at the age of 59.
His family confirmed that the London Wall Street-trained Jane, who led Deutsche as co-CEO from 2012 to 2015, had stomach cancer, and died in the UK on Friday evening.
“We are deeply saddened by our beloved husband, son and father. . . “He passed away overnight after a fierce five-year battle with duodenal cancer,” Jane’s family said in a statement, adding that he was able to bypass his doctors’ original diagnosis by four years. They said, “Until his last day, Anshu had persevered in his determination to ‘not be a statistician’.”
In a statement issued on Saturday, Alexander Wenandts, Chairman of Deutsche Bank’s Supervisory Board, said: “Anshu Jain has played a key role in expanding Deutsche Bank’s position in our global business with corporate and institutional investors. Today, this is of strategic importance not only to Deutsche Bank, but to Europe. as a financial centre.
Jain, a pioneer in derivatives trading, joined Germany’s largest bank in 1995 from Merrill Lynch, where he established and managed a unit covering hedge funds worldwide. He quickly climbed through the ranks.
After his mentor Edson Mitchell – the American who ran the investment banking arm of Deutsche – died in a plane crash in 2000, Jain became head of Deutsche’s global markets business, before co-leading its investment banking division in 2004.
He jointly oversaw a period of rapid growth in which the unit generated the bulk of Deutsche’s profits, briefly helping it become the world’s largest bank. Jain took control of the division in 2010, when he overtook then-CEO Joseph Ackerman.
In what was then a rare feat for a less-than-polished German outsider, Jaipur-born and Delhi-raised Jain was promoted to the highest position at Deutsche Bank in 2012, serving as co-CEO alongside German Jürgen Fitchen. He’s earned one of the biggest salaries in global banking and won praise from major investors including Larry Fink, president of BlackRock, the bank’s largest single shareholder.
However, shareholder turmoil over lackluster profits, spiraling costs, labor wrangling and frequent clashes with Germany’s Frankfurt Corporation led to Jane’s departure in the summer of 2015, two years before his contract expired.
The bank has also come under pressure from regulators who have raised concerns about its internal culture. Deutsche has had to pay billions of euros to settle accusations of Libor manipulation and faced investigations of money laundering and foreign exchange violations.
After a brief dip, Jain returned to financial services in 2017 as president of US investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, while also serving as an advisor to online SoFi bank.
Christian Swing, CEO of Deutsche, said: “Anyone who has worked with Anshu has had the experience of a passionate leader of intellectual intelligence. His energy and loyalty to the Bank have made a great impression on many of us. Our thoughts and sympathies are with his wife, children and mother. We will honor his memory.”
Larry Fink, President and CEO of BlackRock, said in a statement that he is “deeply saddened” by Jain’s death.
“I got to know Anshu while at Merrill Lynch and we’ve stayed close as his career has grown, including his time at Deutsche. I will always be grateful for the time we spent together,” Fink said.
“He will be remembered for his leadership in financial services and his deep commitment to the environment. My thoughts are with his wife, children, family and friends during this difficult time.”
