Deutsche Bank under pressure from Weber move to UBS

The future nomination of Axel Weber as head of Swiss bank UBS has raised pressure on executives at the largest German bank, Deutsche Bank, which had also sought his services, reports said Friday. The move by UBS represents a setback for Deutsche Bank's supervisory board head Clemens Boersig, who was unable to find a successor to chairman Josef Ackermann in 2009, the business daily Handelsblatt said in an advance copy of an article sent to press agencies. Ackermann agreed then to stay on until 2013. But major bank shareholders and directors are now pressing Boersig to resign, the newspaper said. Boersig had spoken with Weber several times to convince him to replace Ackermann, the popular daily Bild Zeitung said in a report to appear on Saturday that quoted sources close to the bank. Should Boersig step down, Ackermann might himself become Deutsche Bank's next supervisory board president and look for his successor himself, the two reports said. That would provide some continuity within the bank's management, at a time when it is playing a crucial role in gathering support from private banks for a second Greek bailout package. Weber, who was head of the German central bank from 2004 until the end of April, will be offered the position as UBS head from 2013, said the Swiss bank, which is a major rival to Deutsche Bank.