Exclusive | Deutsche Bank overhaul could see new investments, hiring in Asian operations, APAC chief executive says
- The German bank plans to cut 18,000 jobs globally, close its equity sales and trading business
- Realignment will open up new capital for technology investments in Asia, new hiring in wealth management, according to Werner Steinmueller
Deutsche Bank is cutting 18,000 jobs and shuttering its equity sales and trading business worldwide as part of a massive restructuring after years of struggling with profitability, but Werner Steinmueller sees opportunity in the upheaval.
The bank’s Asia-Pacific chief executive said the capital released by closing the equity trading operations will allow the company to reinvest in its Asian business, expand its corporate bank in parts of the region and add jobs in its wealth management business – its fastest growing business in Asia.
Steinmueller declined to discuss how many people will lose their jobs in Asia as a result of the overhaul, but said the effect of withdrawing from the equity business in the region will be “minimal”.
The company employed 19,732 people at the end of 2018 in the Asia-Pacific region, with about two thirds working in back office and support functions in India and the Philippines that serve the business globally. Following the restructuring, Deutsche Bank will employ about 74,000 people worldwide in 2022.
“I'm getting more investments,” Steinmueller told the South China Morning Post. “Number one [is] in the corporate bank. We already started, but with the new strategy, we are accelerating investments in China and Australia for example, as well as in technology. We want to expand our range of transaction banking services in Australia, such as cash management.”