Deutsche Bank moves to cut bonuses for staff misusing WhatsApp messaging

Deutsche Bank moves to cut bonuses for staff, who inappropriately used messaging services for business communications as the fallout from a sweeping US probe sends ripples across the industry.

“We have a consequence management framework in place,” Deutsche Bank said in a statement. “Depending on the quantity and quality of a records retention violation this will also impact performance evaluation, individual compensation, and promotion and can lead to disciplinary measures.”

Employees whose usage of unauthorised devices or messaging apps was found to be in particularly severe breach of policies will see a substantial reduction in variable pay, a Bloomberg report said. 

The cuts are going to affect pay still to be awarded for last year. Deutsche Bank is among several global lenders that have paid fines of more than US$2 billion to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the  Commodity Futures Trading Commission to settle an industry-wide investigation into whether bank staff made use of unauthorised communication channels. 

The German lender’s top executives took a pay cut last year over the issue, and the bank has rolled out new software as it seeks to address the issue.

Barclays earlier earlier said that it docked £500 million (S$802.5 million) from its 2022 bonus pool, in part to punish staffers involved in WhatsApp messaging. The British bank was also among the institutions that settled with US regulators last year.

Industry rules have long required banks to archive business communications to ensure regulators can check them but the rapid spread of private messaging tools outside of banks’ controls has undermined that effort.