Dresdner Bank is understood to be lining up Walter Herbert, the former head of private banking at Deutsche Bank and member of its executive committee, as a possible replacement for its chairman Bernd Fahrholz.

Walter has resigned from Deutsche Bank in the last week and is expected to join Dresdner Bank, according to senior sources in Frankfurt. At the same time, Fahrholz has come under pressure in recent months and speculation is rife that he may resign as early as this week.