Deutsche Transition 'Could Have Been Smoother', Citi Sued Over Pay, JPMorgan Sale

The Wall Street Journal reports that Ackermann has rapidly turned into a 'lame duck' CEO as he winds down the clock towards leaving the firm at the end of May.

The newspaper quotes Nomura analyst Jon Pace, who said that the leadership transition (to incoming co-CEOs Anshu Jain and Jurgen Fitschen) 'could have been smoother', and says that 'recent leaks to German media have indicated that people close to Mr Ackermann were being shoved aside, and a key meeting has been postponed until after he departs'.

One person familiar with the matter also told the newspaper that 'at a recent meeting, Mr Ackermann and his successors appeared unwilling to even look at each other'.

In the meantime, Reuters reports that, just days after being rebuked by shareholders, Citigroup Inc (C.N) Chief Executive Vikram Pandit and the bank's directors have been sued by a shareholder accusing them of awarding outsized pay to top executives.

The complaint, filed Thursday in Manhattan federal court, said directors breached their fiduciary duties by awarding more than $54m of compensation in 2011 to the executives, including $15m to Pandit, though the bank's performance did not necessarily justify it.

The news agency also reports that, according to its sources, JPMorgan Chase is close to selling its U.S. metal concentrates trading arm and could announce a deal as early as Monday.

The divestment, while likely small in dollar terms, would come just months ahead of a deadline to sell off parts of the bank's enlarged commodity trading operation that do not meet Federal Reserve regulations. JP Morgan had two years to comply after it bought the bulk of RBS Sempra in 2010.

Finally, Reuters also reports that hedge fund manager Brian Kim was sentenced on Friday in New York state court to up to 15 years in prison, a month after pleading guilty to running a $6m Ponzi scheme.

36-year-old Kim, who previously appeared on television as a derivatives expert, founded the now-defunct Liquid Capital Management. He sent investors phony monthly statements showing their accounts had inflated gains, according to prosecutors.