Insider Christian Sewing, a retail banking specialist, is the latest to take the helm at Germany’s biggest lender.

Sewing joined Deutsche Bank in 1989 and has worked in Frankfurt, London, Singapore, Tokyo and Toronto. He served most recently as co-deputy CEO and joint head of the retail banking division. He has also been on the bank’s management board since 2015. Sewing is the first German in 16 years to serve as Deutsche’s sole CEO. Perhaps most notably, he is also the first in many years without a career in investment banking, having specialised in retail banking, auditing and risk management.

The appointment is the latest in a series of changes in the senior management of Deutsche Bank, which has had four CEOs in six years. In 2012, Anshu Jain and Jürgen Fitschen were appointed as Co-CEOs, replacing Josef Ackermann. Both men resigned in June 2015, though Fitschen remained until May 2016. John Cryan replaced Jain as Co-CEO in 2015 and became sole CEO at the end of Fitschen’s term. Sewing replaces Cryan, whose ouster was prompted by the discontent of investors, who hoped he could return the bank to profitability following three consecutive years of losses.

Sewing’s appointment reflects an ongoing tug-of-war between investment banking and retail banking. Investment bankers have enjoyed elevated status at the bank for some 30 years, but recently, major shareholders have debated the future of the core unit. Deutsche Bank is not alone in this uncertainty. The past decade has seen, according to Bloomberg, “a new era of lower investment banking returns that has forced lenders across Europe to rethink their business models.”

Deutsche’s investment bank expanded rapidly in the years leading up to the financial crisis, which is likely a factor in its current difficulties. Investment bank revenue was down 25% in 2017 compared with 2015. Analysts at Scope Ratings say the division needs “drastic” cuts. Octavio Marenzi, CEO of consultancy Opimas, believes Sewing’s appointment means greater focus on commercial and retail banking and wealth management. “It looks like the board of directors is capitulating on the investment banking front”, he said.

Many agree, pointing not only to the appointment of Sewing, but also to the departure of Marcus Schenck. A co-deputy CEO and joint head of investment banking, Schenck was passed over for the CEO job, despite having been seen as a frontrunner. Paul Achleitner, Chairman of the Deutsche Bank’s Supervisory Board, said the executive hiring decision does not signify “a turn away from investment banking”; however other experienced investment bankers, including Jean-Pierre Mustier of UniCredit and Christian Meissner of Bank of America, were turned down as well.

Of course, retail banking is not a sure thing. For Deutsche Bank, “returning to its roots in retail banking in its home market is not appealing, either”, The Economist reports. “It is tricky to make money in a land of 1,600 banks where retail clients are reluctant to borrow, especially with interest rates so low.” Dan Davies of Frontline Analysts goes so far as to suggest that the bank concentrate on investment banking, not retail, in Europe, and scale back in America.

If Deutsche Bank is indeed shifting its focus to retail, Sewing is the right leader. Less so if it decides to double down on investment banking. In the short term, “Mr. Sewing urgently needs to bring a sense of calm back to the bank”, said Ingo Speich, a fund manager at Union Investment.

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