Deutsche Bank's US head stands down Seth Waugh, who built Deutsche Bank into a serious player in fixed income on Wall Street, is stepping down as head of North America in the latest in a series of management changes at Germany's biggest bank. Mr Waugh, chief executive of the division for the past 11 years, said he wanted to spend more time with his family. He insisted that was not a euphemism. I basically haven't lived at home for 30 years. I have commuted for the last six years," he said. For me it was a very hard decision. I love it here. The bank has been terrific to me. The 53-year-old will stay with the bank until a successor is identified, Deutsche and Mr Waugh said. Mr Waugh said both internal and external candidates would be considered for the role. He said his break from the industry was likely to be a "time out, not a retirement." Deutsche hired Mr Waugh after he was forced from his position as co-head of fixed income at Merrill Lynch in 1998 and decided to leave the firm. His move to Deutsche came after the German bank bought US-based Bankers Trust for $10bn and used it as a platform to build its North American franchise. The bank is now ranked close to the top of Dealogic's league tables for fixed income ahead of most other European rivals. Its equities business has proven less successful but Mr Waugh said that business, together with corporate finance, were "closing fast" with the fixed income side of the bank. Deutsche has not been immune from problems in the US. Some regulators have criticised it for running its US operation with too little capital. Mr Waugh said Deutsche was "dealing it with it in a concerted way - internally and with regulators." Its sale of collateralised debt obligations in the run-up to the financial crisis has also been investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission after a congressional committee found that a top Deutsche trader described the underlying assets as "crap" and "pigs." Mr Waugh's departure comes ahead of a leadership transition at the top of the bank. Josef Ackermann, chief executive since 2002, is due to step down in May. Anshu Jain, head of Deutsche's corporate and investment bank, and Jürgen Fitschen, who heads Deutsche's domestic business as well as its worldwide regional management, are to take over as co-chief executives.