Deutsche Bank's management received a shot in the arm yesterday from the dominant shareholder voting-adviser, ISS, which said that despite "a number of concerns" it would not be backing an activist campaign against the bank's supervisory board.

ISS, which is owned by index provider MSCI, is generally acknowledged to be the market-leading shareholder advisory firm on corporate-governance issues. Its position is especially dominant in the US market, but it has a substantial continental European presence too, and advises many US managers with shareholdings on the continent.