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FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Deutsche Bank says former top executives have agreed to give up 38.4 million euros ($44.9 million) in disputed bonuses that were withheld while the board of directors raised questions about their responsibility for the bank's legal troubles.
The bank said the former executives agreed to voluntarily give up part of a total of 69.8 billion euros in suspended bonuses. They settled for the remaining 31.4 million euros. It did not name the executives or say how many people were involved.
The bank's board said it had found after consulting with legal experts that it could not get the money back. It described the executives' agreement to give up some of the money as "voluntary" and a "sign of solidarity with Deutsche Bank."
A board statement Thursday said that, given the number of investigations and penalties the bank had faced, the board had a duty to review whether past executives bore any personal responsibility.
Deutsche Bank has for years paid billions to settle investigations over past misconduct. In December, it agreed to pay $7.2 billion to settle a U.S. investigation into its handling of complex securities backed by house mortgages. Losses on such securities helped kick off the global financial crisis in 2007.
Board Chairman Paul Achleitner said in a statement "the board welcomes the fact that the former members of the executive board are making a further personal contribution to closing this chapter. That helps us to turn our focus to the future."
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This story corrects the Deutsche Bank's mortgage-bond settlement to $7.2 billion.
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