Foreword When CEO Joseph Ackermann set Deutsche Bank the target for 2005 of achieving at least 25% return on equity before tax, he was sending out a clear signal: Management in the German banking sector was finally realizing that it had to focus more on share holder interests. Parallel to the discontinuation of German state guarantees, Gewa- tragerhaftung and Anstaltslast, in 2005, there was a change in owner's requirements on members of the largest German banking group - the Landesbanks and savings banks. Some municipalities have been increasing pressure on their institutions to create grea...