Bankers at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) will this year be paid some of their bonus in stock in parent company Allianz for the first time, underlining the German insurance group's commitment to DrKW's future.

Since the abortive merger talks between Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Bank in 2000, and the acquisition of Dresdner by Allianz in 2001, speculation has been rife about the future of DrKW. Senior management had raised the possibility of paying some bonuses in stock in an attempt to lock-in and incentivise staff, but had not delivered on that promise until now.