FILE PHOTO - Joachim Faber, chairman of the supervisory board of Deutsche Boerse AG is recorded by a TV camera as he holds a speech at the New Year reception of the German stock market in Eschborn near Frankfurt, Germany, January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

BERLIN (Reuters) - Deutsche Boerse DB1Gn.DE Chairman Joachim Faber is considering quitting as head of the exchange operator's supervisory board as early as in 2019, Handelsblatt reported, citing sources in the finance industry.

Faber, who has chaired the company’s 12-member controlling panel since May 2012, used a meeting with investors in London to discuss the possibility of an early departure, the German business daily reported late on Wednesday.

Frankfurt-based Deutsche Boerse declined to comment.

Faber has been criticized by investors for the failed merger with the London Stock Exchange LSE.L and a compensation program awarded to Carsten Kengeter who resigned as chief executive in late October, Handelsblatt said, adding several large investors were refusing to re-elect him at the annual shareholders' meeting next May.

No decisions have been taken yet and Faber plans further talks with investors in January, the newspaper said, citing the unidentified finance industry sources.