He has also been a member of the Dutch central bank supervisory board and regularly has represented the queen at international events.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

And the next day a Munich court ruled that Deutsche and Rolf Breuer, Mr Ackermann's predecessor, who now chairs the bank's supervisory board, were liable to pay damages to Leo Kirch, a media mogul whose empire crumbled last year.

ECONOMIST: There is no quick way out of the quagmire for Germany's banks

It weakens his position with the regional politicians and savings-bank chiefs who control WestLB via its supervisory board.

ECONOMIST: German Landesbanks