In January 2014, the body of William Broeksmit, 58, a high-ranking Deutsche Bank executive, was found hanging in his London flat from a dog leash tied to the top of a door.
Financial papers were strewn about, and on a dog bed near the body were a number of notes to family and friends. One was addressed to Deutsche Bank CEO Anshu Jain, with an apology. But that note — never publicly revealed until now — offered no clue as to the reason he was sorry.
Broeksmit’s high-ranking colleague at Deutche was Michele Faissola, who arrived on the gruesome scene after Broeksmit’s wife told his stepson, Val Broeksmit, to phone him. He arrived minutes later, and began going through the bank papers and read the suicide notes.
“He did go to my father’s computer which was, at the time, I thought a little weird,” said Val Broeksmit.
There is no evidence Faissola was involved in any misconduct related to Broeksmit’s death, but the stepson said he still wonders what, if anything, Faissola was searching for. Faissola declined comment.
In emails provided to The Post by his stepson Val, Broeksmit had just messaged friends about his excitement to go on a ski vacation scheduled for a week later.
Although a report from Broeksmit’s clinical psychologist revealed that Broeksmit was “very anxious about authorities investigating areas of the bank at which he worked,” his depression over the Libor investigation the year before seemed to have lifted, according to a doctor who’d given him a clean bill of health a month before his death, said his stepson. Val found other unsettling facts while going over his father’s personal papers and emails.
“Yes he killed himself,” Val Broeksmit told The Post. “But there’s a question: Could it be suicide by extortion, could it be suicide by pressure or saying if you don’t do this, we’re going to do this? There’s a couple suspicions I have.”
In early 2013, Jain planned to make Broeksmit chief risk officer for the entire bank. He was an expert in the esoteric field of derivatives, of which Deutsche had roughly $60 trillion worth on its books. But German banking regulators nixed the appointment because they said he lacked the requisite experience.
Broeksmit left the bank in June, but a few months later took a position in New York as a director of Deutsche Bank Trust Company of America, the US arm of the German banking giant. It was his reward for his long service after butting heads with German banking authorities.
DBTCA was the former Banker’s Trust, which Deutsche bought in 1998. It’s the custodial arm for wealthy clients to park money for trust funds and other long-term investing.
Deutsche Bank’s asset and wealth management unit was overseen by Michele Faissola, who along with Broeksmit reported directly to CEO Jain. But unlike most bank directors, Broeksmit’s natural curiosity and work ethic didn’t permit him to just turn up for a monthly meeting and cash a paycheck. He began to dig in, looking at the operation.
“[My father] didn’t just want to show up,” said Val Broeksmit.
A month before his death, William Broeksmit wrote — in what his son says shows his anger — to fellow executives, asking why he should take the lead on the sticky matter of the upcoming Federal Reserve-mandated stress test for the bank.
He also questioned the “generous” loan-loss numbers being used by the bank, afraid that federal regulators would see the bank was losing more on loans than the books showed. Large losses could lead the feds to slap the bank with restrictions.
Source: NYPost
UPDATE: Since the publication of the story, Alla Broeksmit, the widow of William Broeksmit, and Michele Faissola have offered comment on the story. Mrs. Broeksmit confirms that Mr. Broeksmit and Mr. Faissola were close personal friends and that there was never any conflict between them. When she discovered her husband’s body, Mrs. Broeksmit called Mr. Faissola to ask that he come to the apartment. Mrs. Broeksmit and Mr. Faissola have informed the Post that on that day, Mr. Faissola arrived at the Broeksmit’s residence after the police and other family friends solely to comfort the family, that he did not show up “minutes” later as stated in the article, and that he did not touch or review any papers of Mr. Broeksmit, the suicide notes, or Mr. Broeksmit’s computer. Mr. Faissola was and is deeply heartbroken by the loss of his friend.
