FRANKFURT — Deutsche Bank said on Sunday that it would split its investment bank in two and overhaul its top management as the lender, Germany's largest, tried to overcome legal problems and address criticism that it was inefficient.
As part of the reorganization, which was approved by the bank's supervisory board at a meeting on Sunday, several high-profile executives will leave, including two who were criticized for their handling of accusations that Deutsche Bank colluded with other banks to rig benchmark interest rates.
The changes represent the first major attempt by John Cryan, co-chief executive of Deutsche Bank since July, to address complaints from shareholders that the bank is too complicated and not profitable enough. Mr. Cryan replaced Anshu Jain, who was a key figure in making Deutsche Bank a competitor to big investment banks like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase, but resigned in part because of pressure from shareholders unhappy about inconsistent profits. The bank's other co-chief executive is Jürgen Fitschen, who has announced his intention to resign in May.
"We want to create a better controlled, lower cost, and more focused bank," Mr. Cryan said in a statement.
Most of Deutsche Bank's investment banking activities have been located in a division known as Corporate Banking and Securities. That unit will be split in two, with one part focusing on corporate and investment banking and the other on sales and trading.
As part of the changes, a woman will join the bank's management board, which has been all male. Sylvie Matherat, head of government and regulatory affairs at Deutsche Bank, will become chief regulatory officer. The bank has been under heavy pressure from regulators to reduce risk and move more energetically to deal with past wrongdoing by employees, primarily at the investment bank.
In addition, Kim Hammonds, a former Boeing executive who is chief information officer at Deutsche Bank, will become chief operating officer as part of the reorganization. She is expected to join the management board within a year after a transition period required by German regulators, the bank said.
"Deutsche Bank rarely underwent such a fundamental reorganization in its history," Paul Achleitner, chairman of the supervisory board, said in a statement.
Among the executives who will resign as part of the overhaul are Michele Faissola, head of the bank's asset management unit, and Stephan Leithner, a member of the Deutsche Bank management board whose responsibilities included regulatory affairs and combating financial crime.
Both men have faced criticism in connection with accusations that Deutsche Bank was among banks that manipulated the benchmarks used to set the interest rates on trillions of dollars in mortgages, credit card debt and other loans. In April, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $ 2.5 billion in penalties to the United States and British authorities to settle the accusations, more than any other bank involved in the case.
In an internal report earlier this year, Germany's financial regulator said that Mr. Faissola, who was previously head of global rates, did not respond adequately to signs of problems in the way benchmark interest rates were set. Mr. Faissola will leave after an unspecified transition period, Deutsche Bank said.
Mr. Leithner was criticized in the report for not conducting a thorough investigation once suspicions of wrongdoing came to light in 2012. Deutsche Bank said Mr. Leithner would resign at the end of the month, at his own request, to work in private equity.
A Deutsche Bank spokesman declined to comment on whether any of the management changes were related to the bank's legal problems.
Stefan Krause, a member of the Deutsche Bank management board who was previously chief financial officer, will also resign, the bank said.
As part of the shake-up, Deutsche Bank will abolish its group executive committee, which is made up of 19 senior managers. The management board will be expanded from eight to 10 members, Deutsche Bank said, including six new members.
Jeff Urwin, who has been co-head of the Corporate Banking and Securities unit, will be in charge of the new corporate and investment banking unit and a member of the management board. Garth Ritchie, head of equities at Deutsche Bank, will become a member of the management board responsible for the new Global Markets unit.
Colin Fan, the other co-head of Corporate Banking and Securities, will resign effective Monday, the bank said.
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