Deutsche Bank will "sharply" reduce its presence in the U.S. as the German bank dials down its global equities trading business, according to reports Wednesday.
The Frankfurt-based lender plans to significantly scale back its presence in the U.S. market and has already started slowing down activity in Central Europe and the Middle East and Africa region, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. At its annual shareholder meeting Thursday, the bank will reportedly announce additional restructuring measures.
Executives are also closing in on previously announced plans to cut roughly 10 percent of staff that will likely extend into next year as the bank accelerates cost cuts, Dow Jones reported.
Following its first-quarter earnings report, the bank had announced plans to significantly reduce its workforce through the rest of this year, mostly in corporate and investment bank functions.
U.S. shares of the bank fell 2 percent following the reports, and have lost nearly one-third their value this year. The stock traded at its lowest level since 2016, when a major crisis of confidence hit the bank.
Deutsche Bank has been under scrutiny from shareholders for posting three consecutive years of losses, including a 497 million euro loss for 2017. In the first quarter, Deutsche Bank posted first-quarter net profits of 120 million euros, or $146 million, a 79 percent fall from last year's figure.
In April, Chief Executive Officer John Cryan was ousted in a rocky transition that shook investor and employee confidence. His successor, Christian Sewing, the fourth CEO in six years, has signaled that the bank will scale back its business that deals with hedge funds, and the trading of stocks will also be affected, Bloomberg said, citing people with knowledge of the discussions.
The company had already announced large-scale restructuring to focus on direct links with European companies, and said it plans to scale back U.S. rates sales and trading, which would result in significant job losses, the bank said.
Two executives are also reportedly leaving the bank: London-based head of CEEMEA equity sales Darren Veenhuis, and Pascal Moura, who heads up equity research in Dubai.
The bank declined CNBC's request for comment.