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Christian Sewing

Chief Executive Officer, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Deutsche Bank

Search every verified Christian Sewing interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. At the Handelsblatt-Bankengipfel 2026 in early September, Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing warned that leaving the European Union would be "poison for German prosperity," referring to the economic plans of the AfD. He also discussed the federal government's reforms, the Commerzbank takeover, and U.S. national debt. Sewing stated that he personally hoped a scenario involving potential cooperation with a state government led by the AfD would not occur, noting that Germany is currently perceived as a country with potential. In the interview with Handelsblatt editor-in-chief Sebastian Matthes, Sewing said that politicians must "tell the population the truth" about the country's and Europe's position, and that staying the course on reforms, including making cuts, would lead to long-term benefits. He also commented on the need for fiscal responsibility, citing the German chancellor's remarks about not being able to permanently subsidize oil prices above $100, and argued that states should not subsidize every external market movement.

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Notable quotes

“I think the most important thing I can give to politics from my corporate experience is simply to stay the course. And it also means in this situation, we have to tell the population the truth about where we stand as a country, where we stand as a European continent. We have a clear goal to get there, which also means cuts, but then we will benefit from it in the longer term. And if we stick with it and don't immedia”

“I personally hope that this doesn't happen, to say that very clearly, because we are currently in a situation where Germany is again perceived as a country with potential. And as I just mentioned some figures, who would have thought in April or at the end of February, when the war in the Middle East began, who would have thought that despite this war, which has now been going on for over 5 months, Germany has a chanc”

“We will only be successful then if the society, and I'm stressing society, not only our clients, but the society is trusting financial institutions. And the most important [thing] we need to build is trust. And like in personal life, but also in professional life, I'm convinced that you can only build trust over the long-term.”

“Es ist traurig, aber wahr. Europa hat die höchsten Einlagen auf den Sparken, aber zur Zeit verlieren wir pro Jahr 300 Milliarden Euro an Einlagen, die nach Amerika gehen und dort die Wirtschaft unterstützt und finanziert, weil wir hier keinen einheitlichen Markt haben. Und lassen Sie sich die Zahl 300 Milliarden nur einmal durch den Kopf gehen. Der Drag Report spricht von ungefähr 1000 Milliarden Investitionen pro Ja”

“Was wir ganz nötig brauchen ist, dass wir einen echten europäischen Heimatmarkt schaffen. Wir reden über Würzölle mit Amerika, vielleicht auch mit anderen Regionen der Welt. Es ist enorm wichtig, dass wir sozusagen unsere internen Zölle, die wir auch haben innerhalb von Europa, dass wir die verringern, dass wir einen großen Heimatmarkt haben. Wenn wir das schaffen, Strukturreformen, Anlauf der öffentlichen Investitio”

“Ja, zunächst einmal gibt's viele schöne Zahlen, aber ich würde schon sagen, dass die Ertragskraft und der Vorsteuergewinn nach 9 Monaten von 7,7 Milliarden beeindruckend ist und es einfach zeigt, dass die Bank die Transformation erfolgreich gegangen ist. Wir sind nah an den Kunden und es zeigt sich einfach in allen Geschäftsbereichen, dass wir wachsen, Kostendisziplin haben und damit sehr profitabel sind.”

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