Deutsche Bank nominates retiring Volkswagen CFO Frank Witter to board

Deutsche Bank said on Thursday it had nominated Volkswagen’s retiring finance chief Frank Witter to its supervisory board, coming at a time that the lender is attempting to boost its ties market share as a banker for European corporations.

Frank Witter, who retires from the automaker in June, has banking experience as the head of the automaker’s banking unit. Shareholders will vote on the nomination in May.

Witter would be taking the place of Alexander Schuetz, who came under fire for remarks to the chief executive of collapsed payments company Wirecard. Schuetz said that his time on Deutsche’s board was fun but that he looked forward to dedicating his time to other activities.

Deutsche Bank’s current chair, Paul Achleitner, has signaled that he will step down in 2022 when his term ends. He has dropped the oversight of the board’s nomination committee that would look forward to his replacement.

Theodor Weimer, currently the chief executive of the stock exchange operator Deutsche Boerse, has been touted as a possible successor.

Weimer informed journalists last month that there had been no talks of him taking the role.