By Sue Reisinger, From Corporate Counsel

Beset by legal and regulatory problems, Germany’s Deutsche Bank AG is shaking up its top management by replacing two co-chief executives and reassigning its new head of legal affairs. But general counsel Richard Walker seems to be hanging on.

The bank announced June 7 that John Cryan, a member of its supervisory board, would succeed co-CEOs Anshu Jain and Jurgen Fitschen. Jain is stepping down June 30, while Fitschen will leave May 19, 2016, after the annual meeting. Cryan and Fitschen will serve as co-CEOs until then.

Two weeks ago, the bank also said it was realigning the duties of Christian Sewing, its new head of legal affairs, by shifting him to head of private and business clients, the retail part of the bank.

Last October Sewing was given the legal affairs title and was added to the company’s management board, as Deutsche said it was trying to better focus on its “strategic, regulatory and litigation priorities.”

The bank’s website on Monday still listed Sewing as a member of that board, but his title was changed. The site still shows him responsible for legal issues as well.

General counsel Richard Walker, who was added to the management board in January 2014 as part of the bank’s then-beefed-up legal strategy, is no longer on the board. But he remains general counsel and a member of a lesser panel, the group executive committee.

Walker, a former director of enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, has been under fire as the bank has lurched from one scandal to another since the financial crisis of 2008. In its most recent settlement, the bank agreed to pay more than $2.5 billion in penalties for involvement in the LIBOR interest rate scandal. It also has been the target of massive litigation.

In February 2014 there were rumors that Walker might be replaced, but the bank issued a statement saying the general counsel enjoyed “full support.” Although Walker retained the GC title, a few months later Sewing was announced as head of legal affairs.

The bank did not return messages from CorpCounsel.com on Monday seeking to clarify how Sewing’s and Walker’s duties differ, and whether Sewing is still playing a role in legal affairs.

The latest management shake-ups appear to result from investor discontent as the bank’s legal costs continue to skyrocket, according to a June 7 report in the Financial Times. The article said 39 percent of stockholders voted against Deutsche’s management board at the annual meeting held two weeks ago and called for Jain and Fitschen to resign.

IMAGE: Elliott Brown/Flickr

For more on this story go to: http://www.corpcounsel.com/id=1202728689992/Deutsche-Bank-ShakeUp-Reassigns-Legal-Affairs-Chief#ixzz3cZhKMBqS