Deutsche Bank picks new CEO at emergency meeting after 2 co-CEOs quit

Deutsche Bank said Sunday that its co-CEOs are resigning from their positions early and that it has picked John Cryan, the former UBS AG finance chief, to be their successor.

Current co-CEO Anshu Jain will step down on June 30, but co-CEO Juergen Fitschen will remain as co-CEO with Cryan until May 2016 to ensure a "smooth transition," the bank said.

After Fitschen leaves, Cryan will be the only CEO. The bank noted that it chose Cryan at an "extraordinary meeting" on Sunday.

The news comes just over two weeks after the bank gave Jain more power in a move criticized by some of his own staff. The bank has struggled to restore an image tarnished by a raft of regulatory and legal problems which include probes into manipulation of benchmark interest rates, mis-selling of derivatives, tax evasion and money laundering.

In a last ditch effort to restore confidence in its leadership, the German lender presented a radical management shakeup on May 21, only to face calls for Jain to resign from staff situated in its own headquarters in Frankfurt.

To make matters worse, the Wall Street Journal pointed out, Fitschen is on trial in Germany on charges that he gave misleading testimony in a civil lawsuit involving the Kirch media empire.

A press release from Deutsche Bank quoted Jain at length but did not include comments from Fitschen. Here's the statement from Jain:

It has been 20 years this month since I came to work at Deutsche Bank and it has been an extraordinary time. Over the past three years, I have been afforded the privilege and honour to lead this great institution together with Jürgen. In our time as the bank's leaders, we have boosted capital, reduced exposures and risk and invested significantly in technology, control and compliance capabilities. Most significantly, we have kept our clients happy and our revenues growing while reshaping and strengthening the bank."

I believe that with Strategy 2020 in place, which puts the bank's future on a strong track, it is right for the bank and for me to have new leadership at this time. I will be forever honored to have served here, and I am convinced that the future of the bank is bright and in very good hands.

(Reuters reporting by Thomas Atkins and Edward Taylor; Reuters writing by Edward Taylor; Reuters editing by Philipa Fletcher)