(Bloomberg) --
Deutsche Bank AG is giving its staff scripts so they can respond to three new books that will likely shine a critical light on the lender's past.
“We recognize that the noise that surrounds potential media events such as these makes your life more difficult and we understand our responsibility to equip you with our responses,” the bank said in a memo to staff sent on Tuesday.
The memo was shared by New York Times reporter David Enrich on Twitter and verified by a Deutsche Bank spokesman. The NYT on Tuesday published excerpts from Enrich's forthcoming book, which focuses on the business relationship between the lender and U.S. President Donald Trump during his time as real estate developer.
The memo also mentioned a “scholarly historical work on the recent history of the bank” and a book “by a former, junior employee who did not remain with the company for long.”
Deutsche Bank, which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, has long been under scrutiny for missteps such as alleged rigging of interest rates and mis-selling mortgage-backed securities. The first episode of the second season of a German TV series called “Bad Banks” -- widely considered to be roughly modeled on Deutsche Bank -- aired last week.
Many of the topics addressed in the forthcoming books “either occurred years ago and have been addressed by the bank and appropriate regulatory bodies or have been repeatedly dismissed as unfounded speculation,” Deutsche Bank said in the memo on Tuesday. “We have always been committed to learning from the past, improving our services and processes and will continue to work hard to ensure that we are delivering on our promises.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Steven Arons in Frankfurt at sarons@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net, Marion Dakers, Ambereen Choudhury
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