A group of former and serving senior Deutsche Bank executives have agreed to give up nearly $45 million in bonuses.
In a statement, Deutsche Bank described the move as an “act of solidarity” by the executives after it was hit with billions in penalties in the wake of the financial crisis.
All 11 executives served on the bank’s management board during and after the 2008 crisis. They will forfeit a combined €38.4 million ($44.8 million).
Deutsche Bank did not name the individuals in its statement.
But a source familiar with the situation said the group included former CEOs Josef Ackermann and Anshu Jain.
Paul Achleitner, chairman of the German bank’s supervisory board, said he appreciated that the executives were “making a further personal contribution to closing this chapter.”
“This helps us to look forward toward the future again,” he added.
Deutsche Bank said that German corporate law required it to investigate whether members of the management board should be held personally liable for wrongdoing.
“Extensive investigations” by law firms and forensic teams had turned up insufficient evidence to hold individual executives responsible, it said.
The executives believed that they “cannot be accused of any breach of duty” and had voluntarily waived some of their bonuses, it added.
Germany’s biggest bank is still attempting to untangle a thicket of legal cases that have hobbled it since the global financial crisis.
It has agreed to pay $7.2 billion to U.S. authorities to settle claims over toxic mortgage assets, and it has been hit with more penalties over a Russian money-laundering scheme.
In March, it announced that top executives will not receive bonuses for a second straight year after a bruising 2016.
It slashed total bonus payments for the year by 77% to just €500 million ($580 million). Members of the management board will forgo payouts altogether.
Deutsche Bank also announced plans in March to raise $8.5 billion from investors to improve its financial health. CEO John Cryan, who took up the top job in 2015, had said previously that the bank could get by without turning to markets for more money.
