Deutsche Bank's appointment of John Cryan as its new chief executive throws into question the future direction of one of the world's largest banks as it moves to expand its business across the globe and Asia.

Over the weekend, Germany's largest lender by asset size reshuffled its leadership, appointing Cryan to replace co-CEOs Anshu Jain and Jurgen Fitschen, whom were granted power to make major changes in the bank just two weeks ago.

The new appointment comes at a time when Deutsche Bank has suffered a series of major financial blunders, regulatory penalties, and probes into alleged mis-selling of derivatives, tax evasion and even money-laundering. In the last few weeks, shareholders and employees have been losing confidence in the bank's management team and future plans, causing intense pressure for the bank's leadership to make radical changes.

The abrupt leadership appointment raises the question of the future direction of one of the most influential banks, and how it's new CEO will shape its strategy to rebuild trust with regulators, shareholders and employees across the globe.

Reports have emerged saying that Cryan will not make major strategic changes and will mainly follow the plans that were developed under the past co-CEOs. This is slightly echoed in a recent press release from Deutsche Bank in which Jain, said that bank is on the right track, and now the "future of the bank is bright."

However, sticking to this strategy may not meet the expectations of key shareholders and employees within the bank, therefore it's reasonable to believe that the new CEO, who starts on July 1st, 2015, will make major changes and overhaul processes, procedures and strategic initiatives.

Changes to expect from the new CEO

A source within Deutsche Bank tells The Asset that he expects Cryan to be the new face of the bank, carefully work with regulators, and most importantly, clean up the investment arm.

"Cryan knows the bank very well, and he has seen some of the issues the bank has recently been facing unfold. I am sure that he will take clear measures to ensure that the bank continues to lead across the globe and Asia," the source says.

Other sources have mentioned that Cryan will also sharply cut costs by scaling back its investment banking and retail operations, and also handle regulatory issues that have long been a major pain for the bank.

But there is still significant uncertainty on how Cryan will reshape the bank's image to the public, boost employee morale, and put the bank's share price on an upward trend. One thing is certain: it will take major short and long term innovative decisions to make these happen. 

Shareholder dissatisfaction culminated at Deutsche Bank's annual meeting last month when only 61% of the bank's shareholders approved its strategic plan. Even though the vote was nonbinding, the low approval of the plan was a blow to the creditability of the co-CEOs. The bank's shares, which closed Friday at $30.70, have barely changed from when Messrs Jain and Fitschen took over the leadership of Germany's largest bank.

Cryan, 54, was the president for Europe at Temasek, the Singaporean investment company, from 2012 to 2014. Previously, he was chief financial officer of UBS from 2008 to 2011 and worked in corporate finance and client advisory roles at UBS and SG Warburg since 1987.