Deutsche Bank's chairman best paid among German blue chips in 2018

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank's <DBKGn.DE> Paul Achleitner was the best paid chairman of a German blue-chip company last year, according to a study published Tuesday.

Achleitner earned almost 860,000 euros ($944,624.00), surpassing that paid to the chairmen of BMW <BMWG.DE> and Fresenius <FREG.DE> by more than 200,000 euros, according to shareholder lobby group DSW.

Achleitner, whose salary was 7.3% higher than a year earlier, ousted Deutsche's chief executive in 2018, and the bank reported its first annual profit in four years.

But the bank is still struggling to sustain the recovery and expects to make a loss in 2019. Earlier this year, Deutsche announced plans to cut 18,000 jobs and close down some operations after it called off merger talks with rival Commerzbank <CBKG.DE>.

Deutsche Bank declined to comment on Achleitner's pay.

Achleitner, a former executive at Goldman Sachs <GS.N> and Allianz <ALVG.DE>, has been Deutsche's chairman since 2012 and oversaw multiple CEO changes. During that period, the bank has also paid billions of euros in fines and settlements, while its share price has plummeted.

Achleitner is in the process of finding a successor for when his term ends in 2022, people familiar with the matter said.

In August, Achleitner bought Deutsche Bank shares worth nearly 1 million euros ($1.11 million).

(Reporting by Hans Seidenstuecker; Writing by Tom Sims; editing by Louise Heavens)