Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing signaled he plans to repurchase around €450 million ($495 million) worth of stock under the lender’s next buyback, providing more clarity about the program’s likely size.
“We have a clear plan how to grow our dividend year by year, a 50% increase year by year,” Sewing said in a TV interview at Bloomberg’s London office. “If you do this kind of math for the buybacks, compared to the last year, then you potentially have a number which is ballpark right.” The lender last year carried out a share buyback worth €300 million.
The buyback is part of a pledge by Sewing to return about €8 billion to shareholders over several years. Investors have been waiting for details on the next repurchase program, but Deutsche Bank has so far stopped short of announcing one. Sewing said the lender is still in talks with regulators about the necessary approval and that he’s confident he can kick it off in the second half of the year.
Sewing on Thursday confirmed his commitment to the capital distribution plan, saying shareholders need to be rewarded after sticking with the lender through several years of a difficult transformation.
“We stand by our plan of delivering the 8 billion back to our shareholders, including the dividends,” he said.
