The Trouble With Deutsche Bank

Chinese HNA creates more problems than it solves; a merger with a US bank may be the only way out

A woman with an umbrella passes a Deutsche Bank branch in Frankfurt am Main, on January 29, 2013. The Chinese investment in the German bank hasn't helped and a merger with a U.S. bank could be a better solution. Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images

Watching the related financial dramas of China’s HNA Group and Germany’s Deutsche Bank AG, we are reminded that purposeful design and order imposed from above by experts and regulators is largely an illusion. The world is filled with ill-considered strategies, especially at the intersection of public policy and corporate governance.

So what is the problem for Deutsche Bank?