Deutsche Bank’s Ritchie Fights to Defy Gravity as Exit Looms (1)

Garth Ritchie kept rising at Deutsche Bank AG long after the investment-banking division he leads began to fall. Gravity may finally be catching up.

Ritchie, 50, has gained more and more power since 2005, helping to shape the investment bank even as it began sinking under legal probes, mounting costs and poor performance. He came close to leaving Germany’s biggest lender last year. Instead, he was promoted.

Now, after climbing from the rowdy floor of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange to the upper reaches of one of the world’s biggest banks, his career may have stalled. Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing ...