JPMorgan Alumni Will Be Key Voices in Deutsche Bank Turnaround

(Bloomberg) -- Two of Deutsche Bank AG's most influential shareholders at least know what it's like to run a nation's biggest lender.

Doug Braunstein, previously JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s finance chief, revealed Deutsche Bank AG as the biggest bet at his new hedge fund after the German firm fell to a record low. His former colleague Matt Zames is an adviser to the lender in his new role at Cerberus Capital Management, also a top-five shareholder.

Both are hoping that Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing can pull off the lender's fourth turnaround plan in three years. As they weigh in, it may be helpful they're no strangers to the struggles of a major bank.

Read more: Braunstein bets big on Deutsche Bank's CEO

Braunstein and Zames were both executives at JPMorgan's investment bank during the financial crisis, when the company emerged relatively unscathed, bought rival Bear Stearns Cos. and grew into the biggest U.S. bank. Years later, Zames was named chief operating officer and made Braunstein's boss in a management reshuffle following the firm's London Whale trading loss.

The pair may also have a unique window into Deutsche Bank's trading woes -- they were both at JPMorgan during years when it won market share across the fixed-income and equities landscapes, much of it from the German firm.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sonali Basak in New York at sbasak7@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Steve Dickson

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