New Chairman for Deutsche Bank Malaysia

Deutsche Bank has secured the services of one of the highest profile establishment figures in Malaysia to serve as chairman of the board of directors of Deutsche Bank Malaysia. Tun Dzaiddin is the former chief justice of Malaysia and is at present the chairman of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange.

His role at Deutsche will be non-executive and he will be responsible for leading the bank from a governance perspective as well as using his considerable business and legal knowledge to push the bank's franchise in the country. He replaces Tan Sri Osman Rijal who left the chairman's seat on being appointed to be the chairman of Bank Industry Malaysia.

Mike West, a spokesman for at Deutsche in Hong Kong denies there is any conflict of interest in Tun Dzaiddin being chairman both of Deutsche and of the KLSE. He says the Securities Commission and Bank Negara Malaysia are the main regulators over Deutsche's activities in Malaysia and that "there will be no conflict".

West also says the appointment was being discussed and approved before the time last August when Deutsche became involved in a bond trading scandal in the country, when traders were found to be involved in off market activities.

Still his appointment can only boost Deutsche's reputation in the country. "The appointment of Tun Dzaiddin as Chairman is an important indication of the level of commitment Deutsche Bank has to Malaysia," says Kenneth Borda, CEO of Deutsche Bank Asia Pacific (ex-Japan). "Tun Dzaiddin brings to his new role many years of legal and commercial experience which will contribute significantly to the development of our franchise in Malaysia."