Founded in 1870, Deutsche Bank serves German businesses and supports corporations in their international endeavors.

In this edition of “Behind the Breakthrough,” 8Works Partner Mike Moylan-Jones sits down with Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing to discuss the bank's ambition to become a truly purpose-led organization.

Deutsche Bank’s transformation is rooted in a clear long-term purpose, titled “This is Deutsche Bank,” that aims to guide the bank's strategy and operations for years to come, focusing on enhancing client relationships. Following a period of restructuring, the bank is prioritizing internal engagement to ensure that all employees understand and embrace the new purpose. This strategic shift reflects a broader vision of sustainability and responsibility in banking. Deutsche Bank is committed to delivering lasting benefits for its employees and clients for many years to come.

Mike Moylan-Jones

Hello. I’m here in Frankfurt with Christian Sewing, the chief executive of Deutsche Bank, to talk about the bank’s ambition to become a truly purpose-led organization.

Christian, if I may start by asking, what does Deutsche Bank mean to you?

Christian Sewing

Well, for me, with 35 years of being at Deutsche Bank, it’s obviously the true German bank with an international reach. When you think about Deutsche Bank, it is clearly the one and only global bank with a very strong footing in Germany. Everybody understands Deutsche Bank a bit better by going back to its foundation in 1870, where one thing was made very clear: Deutsche Bank is the bank for the corporates, and helping the German corporates to go abroad. This is something which I still think about when I think about Deutsche Bank, even today.

Mike

And can I ask what Deutsche Bank’s purpose is?

Christian

Well, it is, by the way, the linkage to our foundation: helping corporates go abroad. The purpose of Deutsche Bank, first of all, is to act as the north star, hopefully for the next decades. It’s not only a purpose for the next three years, it should actually last, in my view, for the next 20, 30, or 40 years, where people have a clear understanding and direction of where we want to go. But it’s all centered around clients. It means that this bank, whatever we do, is always focused on the benefits of the clients.

Mike

And why have you chosen to put so much focus on purpose, and why now?

Christian

To be very honest, we really had two or three reasons. Number one, as you know, is that between 2018 and 2022, we went through a quite deep restructuring to put the bank back on a solid foundation, a solid footing in terms of a clean balance sheet, cost discipline, making sure that we are doing the right thing, and that we are doing business where we are competitive. Once this was behind us, and we saw that the ratings were back in order and that we had a good reputation with the markets and investors, we thought, “What is actually? Why Deutsche Bank? What makes us special? What is the difference from other banks?” After all, we are in a very competitive market.

And the second reason why we pivoted into a purpose-led organization, and to be honest, we are on a journey, we are not yet there, is that our new chairman is. Our new chairman joined us in 2022, and I will never forget this discussion with him when he said, “What is Deutsche Bank all about? Describe it to me in one sentence.” And I failed, I couldn’t do it. He said to me, “Look, I think it’s important for 90,000 people to have a clear north star, a clear, long-term direction.” And that’s what we then started to do, and to be honest, it was very exciting, particularly in a people’s business.

Mike

So you have this framework, “This is Deutsche Bank,” which discusses why you exist, what you aspire to be, and how you want to get there. Could you tell me a little bit about how you’ve gone about activating that and making it real within the bank?

Christian

First of all, we decided to activate it only within the bank. We had a long discussion about whether to go out with a big marketing splash or start internally. And again, full transparency, we decided to only activate it internally for two reasons.

Number one, we wanted to ensure that our people, our Deutsche Bank people, and our community first heard it. We didn’t want to have a big marketing splash outside the bank, and our people don’t even know what the purpose actually means. I think that understanding the purpose is actually the best marketing strategy for the future because our people are the brand of Deutsche Bank. If they understand the purpose, if they understand the strategy, and if they understand the vision of how we conduct ourselves, you know what? It’s better than any marketing that we can do.

Mike

Just thinking about it — and I appreciate you said earlier that it’s a journey, that it’s a long-term journey — what impact are you hoping to have? What impact are you already seeing by embedding “This is Deutsche Bank.”

Christian

I really hope that with whatever we do, we achieve two things. Firstly, the immediate and long-term impact on the client from all the decisions we are taking is put more into focus. Secondly, this bank, from the focus which we have given ourselves, from the robustness, the sustainability, and the long-term success, emerges as a more successful bank.

I’m also always thinking that hopefully, when we look at the purpose, the people who are not dealing day-to-day with clients directly turn around and understand that the purpose is also meant for them. Super important, because at the end of the day, what I would like to achieve is that the non-client-facing people are doing a super important task, one which I did for 20 years at this bank: protecting the bank's balance sheet. Only if you do this successfully will you actually achieve a balance sheet robustness that enables us to do client business in the first place. And secondly, in the second line of defense, we are often structuring from a risk-management point of view regarding our business with the clients, so at the end of the day, everybody is captured by this purpose. If we achieve this, then we will get a better organization.

Mike

What do you expect from the people of Deutsche Bank when it comes to “This is Deutsche Bank” and the purpose, from the board right down to the frontline staff?

Christian

As I said at the start, it’s a journey. I cannot expect that 90,000 people actually know what the purpose of Deutsche Bank is from day one. But what we can expect, with all the programs we have in place, is that people get closer to it, they start to live it, and that’s what I would like to achieve.

I’ll give you one other example. In 1989, I got a booklet from Deutsche Bank. In my view, it was nothing but the purpose, although it was not mentioned as “purpose” at that time. It described how you should behave and what Deutsche Bank is all about, but the last page was the most important thing in this booklet. It was a mirror — there was no sentence, nothing. You opened it and saw yourself, and when you clapped it around, it said, “Deutsche Bank is You.” If we actually live that, if we understand the purpose, and we are all driven by this direction, that the client is at the center, and it’s not only the client, but what we are doing is for the long term and lasting success and financial security of the client, I tell you, this bank will be completely re-established in the society. Society understands that it needs financial institutions, and if we can better explain our day-to-day work and how we do what we do, Deutsche Bank will be at the center of society.

Mike

The final question. You mentioned the journey a few times, and we’re now almost a year into this whole endeavor around purpose and “This is Deutsche Bank.” I appreciate that we’re not there yet, but what would you say you’re most proud of so far on what’s been achieved?

Christian

Well, it’s always hard to say. First of all, I’m most proud of the fact that we have gone down this route. You know, I could have come up with 10 arguments on why it’s the wrong time, why we shouldn’t do it, and why we should potentially focus on other items. But I’m really proud that we have done it, and I think it’s for the long-term benefit of our people and our clients, at the end of the day.

Mike

Thank you very much for that, that was really interesting. That’s all from us, thank you.

This transcript has been edited for clarity.

Founded in 1870, Deutsche Bank serves German businesses and supports corporations in their international endeavors.

In this edition of “Behind the Breakthrough,” 8Works Partner Mike Moylan-Jones sits down with Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing to discuss the bank's ambition to become a truly purpose-led organization.

Deutsche Bank’s transformation is rooted in a clear long-term purpose, titled “This is Deutsche Bank,” that aims to guide the bank's strategy and operations for years to come, focusing on enhancing client relationships. Following a period of restructuring, the bank is prioritizing internal engagement to ensure that all employees understand and embrace the new purpose. This strategic shift reflects a broader vision of sustainability and responsibility in banking. Deutsche Bank is committed to delivering lasting benefits for its employees and clients for many years to come.

Mike Moylan-Jones

Hello. I’m here in Frankfurt with Christian Sewing, the chief executive of Deutsche Bank, to talk about the bank’s ambition to become a truly purpose-led organization.

Christian, if I may start by asking, what does Deutsche Bank mean to you?

Christian Sewing

Well, for me, with 35 years of being at Deutsche Bank, it’s obviously the true German bank with an international reach. When you think about Deutsche Bank, it is clearly the one and only global bank with a very strong footing in Germany. Everybody understands Deutsche Bank a bit better by going back to its foundation in 1870, where one thing was made very clear: Deutsche Bank is the bank for the corporates, and helping the German corporates to go abroad. This is something which I still think about when I think about Deutsche Bank, even today.

Mike

And can I ask what Deutsche Bank’s purpose is?

Christian

Well, it is, by the way, the linkage to our foundation: helping corporates go abroad. The purpose of Deutsche Bank, first of all, is to act as the north star, hopefully for the next decades. It’s not only a purpose for the next three years, it should actually last, in my view, for the next 20, 30, or 40 years, where people have a clear understanding and direction of where we want to go. But it’s all centered around clients. It means that this bank, whatever we do, is always focused on the benefits of the clients.

Mike

And why have you chosen to put so much focus on purpose, and why now?

Christian

To be very honest, we really had two or three reasons. Number one, as you know, is that between 2018 and 2022, we went through a quite deep restructuring to put the bank back on a solid foundation, a solid footing in terms of a clean balance sheet, cost discipline, making sure that we are doing the right thing, and that we are doing business where we are competitive. Once this was behind us, and we saw that the ratings were back in order and that we had a good reputation with the markets and investors, we thought, “What is actually? Why Deutsche Bank? What makes us special? What is the difference from other banks?” After all, we are in a very competitive market.

And the second reason why we pivoted into a purpose-led organization, and to be honest, we are on a journey, we are not yet there, is that our new chairman is. Our new chairman joined us in 2022, and I will never forget this discussion with him when he said, “What is Deutsche Bank all about? Describe it to me in one sentence.” And I failed, I couldn’t do it. He said to me, “Look, I think it’s important for 90,000 people to have a clear north star, a clear, long-term direction.” And that’s what we then started to do, and to be honest, it was very exciting, particularly in a people’s business.

Mike

So you have this framework, “This is Deutsche Bank,” which discusses why you exist, what you aspire to be, and how you want to get there. Could you tell me a little bit about how you’ve gone about activating that and making it real within the bank?

Christian

First of all, we decided to activate it only within the bank. We had a long discussion about whether to go out with a big marketing splash or start internally. And again, full transparency, we decided to only activate it internally for two reasons.

Number one, we wanted to ensure that our people, our Deutsche Bank people, and our community first heard it. We didn’t want to have a big marketing splash outside the bank, and our people don’t even know what the purpose actually means. I think that understanding the purpose is actually the best marketing strategy for the future because our people are the brand of Deutsche Bank. If they understand the purpose, if they understand the strategy, and if they understand the vision of how we conduct ourselves, you know what? It’s better than any marketing that we can do.

Mike

Just thinking about it — and I appreciate you said earlier that it’s a journey, that it’s a long-term journey — what impact are you hoping to have? What impact are you already seeing by embedding “This is Deutsche Bank.”

Christian

I really hope that with whatever we do, we achieve two things. Firstly, the immediate and long-term impact on the client from all the decisions we are taking is put more into focus. Secondly, this bank, from the focus which we have given ourselves, from the robustness, the sustainability, and the long-term success, emerges as a more successful bank.

I’m also always thinking that hopefully, when we look at the purpose, the people who are not dealing day-to-day with clients directly turn around and understand that the purpose is also meant for them. Super important, because at the end of the day, what I would like to achieve is that the non-client-facing people are doing a super important task, one which I did for 20 years at this bank: protecting the bank's balance sheet. Only if you do this successfully will you actually achieve a balance sheet robustness that enables us to do client business in the first place. And secondly, in the second line of defense, we are often structuring from a risk-management point of view regarding our business with the clients, so at the end of the day, everybody is captured by this purpose. If we achieve this, then we will get a better organization.

Mike

What do you expect from the people of Deutsche Bank when it comes to “This is Deutsche Bank” and the purpose, from the board right down to the frontline staff?

Christian

As I said at the start, it’s a journey. I cannot expect that 90,000 people actually know what the purpose of Deutsche Bank is from day one. But what we can expect, with all the programs we have in place, is that people get closer to it, they start to live it, and that’s what I would like to achieve.

I’ll give you one other example. In 1989, I got a booklet from Deutsche Bank. In my view, it was nothing but the purpose, although it was not mentioned as “purpose” at that time. It described how you should behave and what Deutsche Bank is all about, but the last page was the most important thing in this booklet. It was a mirror — there was no sentence, nothing. You opened it and saw yourself, and when you clapped it around, it said, “Deutsche Bank is You.” If we actually live that, if we understand the purpose, and we are all driven by this direction, that the client is at the center, and it’s not only the client, but what we are doing is for the long term and lasting success and financial security of the client, I tell you, this bank will be completely re-established in the society. Society understands that it needs financial institutions, and if we can better explain our day-to-day work and how we do what we do, Deutsche Bank will be at the center of society.

Mike

The final question. You mentioned the journey a few times, and we’re now almost a year into this whole endeavor around purpose and “This is Deutsche Bank.” I appreciate that we’re not there yet, but what would you say you’re most proud of so far on what’s been achieved?

Christian

Well, it’s always hard to say. First of all, I’m most proud of the fact that we have gone down this route. You know, I could have come up with 10 arguments on why it’s the wrong time, why we shouldn’t do it, and why we should potentially focus on other items. But I’m really proud that we have done it, and I think it’s for the long-term benefit of our people and our clients, at the end of the day.

Mike

Thank you very much for that, that was really interesting. That’s all from us, thank you.

This transcript has been edited for clarity.