BERLIN: Trouble-plagued Deutsche Bank is to oust its British CEO John Cryan and replace him with one of his deputies Sunday, media reported, in a bid to get Germany’s biggest lender back on track after years in crisis.
Following weeks of speculation, the move is to come late Sunday during a supervisory board meeting at the bank’s Frankfurt headquarters.
News weekly Der Spiegel and business newspaper Handelsblatt said the bank would tap Christian Sewing, 47, currently a deputy CEO and head of private banking, to take over in May from Cryan, who has been at the helm since 2015.
Deutsche Bank, which declined to comment on the Spiegel report, called the surprise meeting “to discuss the chairmanship and to take a decision the same day,” it said in a statement Saturday.
While Cryan’s contract runs until 2020, press reports in recent days have suggested a rift over strategy with supervisory board chairman Paul Achleitner, who called Sunday’s meeting.
The choice of Sewing over investment banking chief Marcus Schenck, who had been discussed as a possible successor to Cryan, points to a strategic shift toward retail banking in its home market Germany.
Sewing “is popular among staff in Germany but is likely to meet with skepticism among foreign investment bankers,” Handelsblatt said, adding that Schenck was now expected to leave the bank in the coming months.
Given sole command of the lender in 2016 after the departure of co-CEO Juergen Fitschen, Cryan’s task was to restructure Deutsche and clean up the toxic legacy of its pre-financial crisis bid to compete with global investment banking giants.
He has neutralized the worst legal threats, in part by paying billions in fines and compensation, strengthened Deutsche’s capital foundations with an 8-billion-euro ($9.8 billion) share issue last year and floated asset management division DWS on the stock market in March.
But “the financial results have so far not been what all of us would want them to be,” Cryan, 57, acknowledged in a letter to employees last month while fighting to keep his job, referring to an unexpected 751-million-euro loss reported for 2017.
While the bank said the loss was a one-off caused by US President Donald Trump’s corporate tax reform, investors have shunned Deutsche since the start of the year, with its stock dropping around 30 percent in value since January 1.
Handelsblatt said last month that Deutsche Bank remains “what it was when Cryan took the helm: a chronic patient.”
Cryan was seen as a troubleshooter after his successful steering of Swiss bank UBS through the financial crisis as finance director between 2008 and 2011.
But he met his match with the German lender.
“It was clear from the beginning that Cryan’s time in office would be limited and that his job would be ‘clearing up past mistakes’. He’s not a charismatic leader personality or a visionary,” professor Sascha Steffen of the Frankfurt school of finance told Handelsblatt.
“He had to battle serious problems that his predecessors swept under the rug for years,” Markus Riesselmann, analyst at Independent Research, told AFP.
“He’s largely cleared those up and now it looks like Deutsche can’t turn things around regarding margins. But I doubt a new CEO could successfully make that transition. It seems rather to be a fundamental ‘Deutsche Bank problem’.”
Crisis-hit Deutsche Bank to push out British CEO
Crisis-hit Deutsche Bank to push out British CEO
Capital concentrates as MENA startups close deals
- Fresh funding flows in even as broader market data points to a slowdown
RIYADH: Startup funding activity across the Middle East and North Africa delivered a mixed picture over the past week, with fresh capital flowing into gaming, fintech, deep tech, and travel, even as broader market data pointed to a slowdown in overall investment momentum.
Saudi Arabia’s Impact46 led a $1 million investment round in Hypemasters, an international game development studio focused on competitive strategy experiences for mobile. The round included participation from GEM Capital.
Hypemasters develops strategy titles designed for competitive depth and precise game mechanics and has attracted more than 7 million players globally.
The studio is currently advancing several new projects, including a title in soft launch, as it looks to expand its reach in markets with sustained demand for strategy games.
“Strategy is one of the most demanding categories in game development, and Hypemasters approaches it with uncommon discipline. Their work shows a clear understanding of what committed players expect from this genre, and we believe their upcoming titles can serve a global audience with genuine depth,” said Basmah Al-Sinaidi, managing partner at Impact46.
“We are pleased to support a team that builds with intention and long-term ambition,” she added.
Boris Kalmykov, CEO and co-founder of Hypemasters, said: “We’re focused on deepening our presence across the region and pushing forward with the next generation of strategy games, including a major new title already in soft launch. Partnering with Impact46 marks an important step for Hypemasters.”
The CEO added that Impact46 shares his company’s long-term vision for building “world-class strategy games” from the MENA region, and the support reinforces his firm’s commitment to expanding its portfolio with high-quality releases.
The investment reflects Impact46’s continued interest in game development and interactive entertainment and aligns with its broader strategy of backing studios building globally oriented titles.
Premialab raises $220m
UAE-headquartered Premialab, a provider of data, analytics, and risk management solutions for quantitative investing, has raised $220 million in a growth investment led by KKR, with participation from existing investor Balderton.
Founded in Hong Kong in 2016 by Adrien Geliot and Pierre Trecourt, Premialab operates a global platform serving the $800 billion quantitative investment strategies market.
Counterfeits don’t just impact economies; they erase identity, creativity and truth. Along with our investors, we’re building a movement to make the world’s stories verifiable again.
Walid Tarabih, founder and CEO of Relik
The company provides benchmarking, performance analysis, and risk analytics tools for institutional investors.
The funding will be used to support global expansion, strengthen core operational systems, and scale Premialab’s execution product, which was developed in partnership with Eurex, to broaden access to quantitative investment strategies.
“Quantitative investment strategies have grown rapidly in scale and importance, yet the market has lacked a truly independent standard for data, analytics and risk. Premialab was built to fill that gap,” said Adrien Geliot, CEO of Premialab.
Relik closes seed round
UAE-based Relik has closed a seed funding round with participation from KBW Ventures, Naatt Holding, Fort Holding, and Ayman Sejiny.
Founded in 2023 by Walid Tarabih and later joined by John Tsioris, Relik is an artificial intelligence-powered authentication platform designed to help collectors, brands, and marketplaces.
The company plans to use the funding to roll out additional products and expand across sectors including sports, luxury, and heritage markets.
“We are ensuring authenticity in a fakeable world,” said Walid Tarabih, founder and CEO of Relik, adding: “Counterfeits don’t just impact economies; they erase identity, creativity and truth. Along with our investors, we’re building a movement to make the world’s stories verifiable again.”
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al-Saud, founder and CEO of KBW Ventures, said: “Relik is creating a new global standard for truth and trust. At a time when counterfeiting and AI-generated content are rising, Relik’s mission to protect authenticity carries both cultural and commercial value.”
Nawah raises $23m
Egypt-based deep tech startup Nawah Scientific has raised $23 million in a series A round comprising a mix of equity and debt, marking a decade since the company’s founding.
The round was led by Life Ventures Holding, with participation from Den Ventures, Empire M, AfricInvest, Elsewedy, as well as banks and angel investors.
Founded in 2015 by Omar Saqr, Nawah operates a cloud laboratory model that enables remote access to advanced testing services. Its operations span four business units covering life sciences, food and agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and certified reference materials.
The company plans to use the funding to build a global research and development center in Rwanda, double laboratory capacity in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and expand into North Africa and Europe.
Algeria’s VOLZ raises $5m
Algeria-based travel tech startup VOLZ has raised $5 million in a series A funding round led by a consortium of private investors under Tell Group, with participation from Groupe GIBA.
Founded in 2023 by Mohamed Abdelhadi and Hacene Seghier, VOLZ enables travelers to book flights in Algerian dinars using online payments or cash on delivery, while comparing multiple airlines through a single platform.
Announced at the African Startup Conference in December, the transaction is Algeria’s largest startup funding round in local currency and marks the first exit of the Algerian Startup Fund.
The capital will be used to launch new consumer and corporate travel products, strengthen VOLZ’s position in Algeria, and support expansion across North and West Africa.
MENA startup funding slows in November
Investment activity across the MENA startup ecosystem slowed sharply in November 2025, with 35 startups raising a combined $227.8 million, according to Wamda’s monthly report.
This marked a steep decline from the $784.9 million recorded in the previous month and a 12 percent drop compared to November 2024, pointing to a period of consolidation as investors moderated deployment toward the end of the year.
More than half of the capital raised during the month was driven by a single debt-backed transaction by erad, which propelled Saudi Arabia to the top of the regional rankings. Across 14 deals, the Kingdom attracted $176.3 million, accounting for more than three-quarters of all capital deployed in November.
Despite funding activity spanning 35 startups, capital was concentrated in just 5 markets. After Saudi Arabia’s dominant lead, the UAE followed with $49 million across 14 transactions.
Egypt recorded $1.12 million across 4 deals, while Morocco raised $1.1 million through 2 transactions. Oman saw 1 deal with an undisclosed value, with limited activity reported outside these markets.
Fintech emerged as the most funded sector in November, raising $142.9 million across 9 deals, largely influenced by the same debt-driven transaction.
E-commerce followed with $24.5 million across 6 rounds, while property tech, which topped the charts in October, slipped to 3rd with $18.9 million raised by 3 startups.
Debt financing dominated the month, accounting for more than $125 million through a single transaction.
The remaining capital was largely channelled into early-stage startups, with no later-stage funding rounds recorded in November, underscoring continued investor caution.
From a business model perspective, B2B startups captured the majority of capital, with 20 companies raising $197.1 million.
B2C startups lagged, with 9 companies raising a combined $22.2 million, while the remainder was split across hybrid models.
The gender funding gap showed no signs of narrowing, with male-led startups absorbing 97 percent of the capital raised during the month. Female-led and mixed-gender founding teams accounted for the remaining share.
