Dive Brief:

• Deutsche Bank on Thursday announced that Raja Akram — Morgan Stanley’s deputy CFO since 2020 — will succeed Germany’s largest bank’s longtime finance chief James von Moltke, who told the bank that he will not be seeking another term after his contract expires in June of 2026, according to a company release.  
• Akram will join Deutsche Bank on Oct. 1, become a member of the management board on Jan. 1, 2026 and “assume the CFO role after a transition period,” the release states. Meanwhile Von Moltke, who has held the bank’s finance reins for eight years, will “continue to drive the bank’s delivery of its 2025 financial targets before handing over his CFO responsibilities,” the release said. 
• Alexander Wynaendts, chairman of the bank’s supervisory board, in a statement in the release noted that it was a good time for the leadership change as the bank is completing its “current strategy cycle,” and expressed gratitude for von Moltke’s contributions. “James von Moltke has been instrumental in Deutsche Bank’s successful turnaround, which significantly improved the bank’s business performance, profitability, distributions to shareholders and credit ratings,” he said. “The bank has also materially enhanced stakeholder perceptions and laid the foundations for further growth.”   

Dive Insight:

As part of the leadership changes announced Thursday, Deutsche Bank also said it was giving CEO Christian Sewing “a new mandate” and renewing his contract until April 2029, and that Fabrizio Campelli, head of the corporate and investment bank, would also have his contract extended by three years and take over responsibility for the Americas from Stefan Simon. 

Akram, who began his career as a senior manager at Big Four firm KPMG, also worked for Citigroup from 2006 to 2020, in various roles, including as Country Finance Officer (CFO) Citi Brazil and later as controller and chief accounting officer, according to his LinkedIn account and the release. He has been deputy CFO at Morgan Stanley since May of 2020. 

“I’m honoured to join Deutsche Bank, which is Europe’s leading bank with global reach. I have been impressed with the bank’s transformation in recent years and the immense growth potential and greatly look forward to working with Christian and the rest of the Management Board to further drive the next phase in the bank’s success.” Akram said in a statement in the release.