Deutsche Bank won't shy from any needed strategy changes - CEO

DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank is convinced that its "universal" strategy is the right one but it will change course if tighter regulations make it sensible to do so, co-Chief Executive Juergen Fitschen said on Thursday. Germany's largest bank is reviewing its current stance of offering a broad array of financial services worldwide -- everything from retail accounts to merger advice. "If we come to recognise that we need to undertake changes with a view to the regulatory framework, we won't shy away from doing that," Fitschen said at a reception. Deutsche Bank is "pretty much alone" with its universal approach, Fitschen said, but the bank "still is of the opinion that this business model is the right one". Deutsche Bank said in December it would review its strategy and profit targets in 2015 and possibly sell its Postbank-branded retail unit, in a major reversal as a hoped-for turnaround in profitability slips out of reach. Germany's flagship lender is holding its ground against U.S. leaders such as JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs in revenue, but its returns are trailing because it was not as quick to restructure and recapitalise after the financial crisis. European rivals such as UBS and Barclays have lost revenues as they have shrunk their bond trading desks, but their returns are in better shape. Deutsche bets that vacuuming up activities abandoned by retreating European competitors will pay off when bond trading rebounds. Fitschen said banks in general still needed to cut costs further because interest rates are set to remain near historic lows for some years to come. (Reporting by Matthias Inverardi; Writing by Thomas Atkins; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)