FT News Briefing How Deutsche Bank wooed Jeffrey Epstein
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Feb 26, 2026 
Robert Smith, Financial Times corporate finance editor who reports on banks and governance, recounts how Deutsche Bank actively courted Jeffrey Epstein. He discusses the bank hiring Epstein’s banker, overlooked compliance warnings, and the eventual fallout. Short, sharp scenes of internal incentives clashing with controls and the moment public scrutiny forced account closures.
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How Deutsche Bank Chased Epstein After JPMorgan Cut Ties
- Deutsche Bank actively sought Jeffrey Epstein as a client in 2013 after J.P. Morgan cut him off, treating him as a valuable relationship despite his conviction.
- Bank poached Epstein's J.P. Morgan banker, onboarded him without Reputational Risk Committee sign-off, and managed hundreds of millions in his accounts while compliance flagged warnings.
Repeated Compliance Alerts Were Overridden
- Compliance repeatedly flagged suspicious payments from Epstein to women in Eastern Europe and Russia but received benign explanations like tuition payments.
- These alerts persisted throughout the relationship, yet the account continued to trade and hold large cash balances for years.
High Risk Labelled But Escalation Skipped
- Epstein was labeled high-risk on onboarding yet avoided escalation to the Reputational Risk Committee, an unusual exception.
- Deutsche later acknowledged control weaknesses, paid fines, and its CEO Christian Sewing publicly apologized for errors.