Monday March 27. Hermann-Josef Lamberti, Deutsche Bank board member in charge of global technology and services is hosting an offsite meeting in the Sheraton at Frankfurt airport.
The mix is about 70% Deutsche Bank people, 30% Dresdner. Lamberti reassures the troops on both sides: there's no dogma about which structure will prevail in my line of business, global transactions. But the underlying message is clear: Deutsche Bank's IT system will prevail, and Dresdner's will go onto the scrapheap of history, along with its specialist operators.
The day, which started friendly, "ended with a lot of long green faces", says one eye-witness, referring to Dresdner's corporate colour. Gerhard Barth, Lamberti's nearest counterpart on the Dresdner side, was due to make a closing speech at the evening gathering in Frankfurt's Mess-Turm, but he had long since fled with his tail between his legs. The revellers had to console...
