“A year ago Anshu Jain, co-chief executive of Deutsche Bank, proudly announced that the lender’s “hunger march” for more capital was over, after a successful share issue that bolstered the bank’s equity strength and catapulted it from the sector’s laggard into the top league.

“Fast forward 12 months, and Deutsche has yet again fallen behind, with the capital marching in the opposite direction.

“Investors and analysts are increasingly concerned that management’s stubborn insistence on a “plan A” to improve capital by squirrelling away earnings, shrinking assets and cutting costs might be too little, too late. Some shareholders feel it is time to dust off “plan B” – another rights issue – and executives are being forced to admit that such a plan has come back on the table.

“This is a bank that has been very reluctant and very late in recognising that the world has changed,” said Philippe Bodereau, fund manager at Pimco. “I think they should change course as an equity hike is discounted in the share price already.”

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Read full Financial Times article here.