BERLIN, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Deutsche Bank chief executive officer (CEO) John Cryan is fighting back against rumors of his imminent replacement, German media reported on Thursday.

Writing a "message on the current situation" to staff, Cryan emphasized his desire to remain at the helm of Germany's largest financial institute until the official expiration of his contract in 2020. "We must focus on implementing the strategy which we have agreed with the supervisory board. There is no disagreement on this point", the internal document read.

"I want to assure you that I will continue to work for the bank with all of my energy and want to continue following along the path with you which we began around three years ago", Cryan added. He admitted that Deutsche Bank was "not where we all want it to be" but argued that the Frankfurt-based institute was nonetheless "on the right track".

The CEO further announced that he would continue to pursue an ambitious restructuring of Deutsche Bank's business but would soon also be able to place a greater focus on "growth and achieving attractive returns for our investors."

Earlier, the newspaper "Times" reported that Deutsche Bank chairman Paul Achleitner wants to replace Cryan two years before his current contract expires due to concerns with poor financial performance and negative press in recent years.

Cryan assumed the post of CEO in 2015, vowing to reform the investment bank with an ambitious corporate restructuring programme until the end of his contract in 2020. In March it was revealed that Deutsche Bank had suffered annual losses of 735 million euros (905 million U.S. dollars) in 2017, taking the total figure of cumulative annual loses since 2015 to 9 billion euros.

Deutsche Bank's management more than doubled bonus payments to staff during the same period, however, prompting widespread outrage in German media. According to "Times" Achleitner's and Cryan's relationship has "broken down entirely" as a consequence of the development.

The German Social Democratic Party (SPD) economic policy spokesperson Bernd Westphal has described the situation as "anything but positive" and attacked Cryan for signing generous off pay-rises while the bank was still in the red. "The management of Deutsche Bank must do the job it is paid for. Whoever agrees to pay out 2.3 billion euros in bonus payments must also deliver", Westphal argued.

Despite his reputation as a skilled corporate cost-cutter, Cryan has so far failed to restore the profitability levels which Deutsche Bank enjoyed prior to the 2007/08 financial crisis. Growing uncertainty over the bank's future has been reflected in its share price which has slumped by a further 30 percent since the beginning of the year.

Speaking to the magazine SPIEGEL on Thursday, the banking expert Hans-Peter Burghof said that the public personnel debate which has now engulfed Deutsche Bank comes at the worst possible time. "The corporate restructuring process is not concluded yet. A potential successor to CEO John Cryan would actually have to motivate employees and provide them with a perspective", Burghof said.

Burghof warned that there were too many "unresolved issues" at the moment for a management transition to be concluded smoothly. Deutsche Bank has only recently finalized the public listing of its wealth management subsidiary DWS and is still in the midst of re-integrating Postbank under its corporate umbrella.