Deutsche Bank human resources head Ilgner to leave bank

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Deutsche Bank’s head of human resources, Michael Ilgner, has decided to leave the bank, Deutsche Bank announced on Friday, the latest in a spate of management changes.

The move follows an investigation earlier this year into Ilgner’s purchase of the bank’s own bonds just days before the lender reported earnings, a move that appeared to flout the bank’s own rules designed to prevent insider trading.

It was not immediately clear whether Ilgner’s decision to leave was related to the investigation.

A Deutsche Bank spokesperson declined to comment on the status of the probe. Ilgner did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing praised Ilgner as an “important partner” to the management board.

“Over the past three years, Michael shaped our human capital strategy, creating a strong foundation for future proof leadership and talent management practices that we can build on,” Sewing said.

The move is effective Sept. 30, and Deutsche said it would announce succession plans in due course.

A filing in April showed that Ilgner bought 201,000 euros of the bank’s bonds on April 18, breaking a ban on purchasing securities eight weeks ahead of earnings.

At the time, a person familiar with the matter said that there was no evidence that Ilgner had acted in bad faith with the purchase.

Deutsche Bank in recent months has announced a number of board changes, the biggest management reshuffle since 2019.

(Reporting by Tom Sims, Editing by Victoria Waldersee and Sandra Maler)