Deutsche Bank is to invest up to €1 billion to deploy digital technologies

Deutsche Bank will substantially invest in digital technologies. The Bank plans to invest up to €1 billion additionally over the next three to five years in digitization to capture new revenue opportunities, for example, through remote advisory channels, realize platform efficiencies through automated or digitized processes and develop new client propositions.

The investment is part of the German bank’s restructuring and cost-cutting strategy, which aims to achieve annual savings of €3.5 billion by 2020.

As part of the strategy, Deutsche Bank will reshape its retail banking business to develop an advisory-led, omnichannel proposition for customers and will also sell its Postbank retail division via the stock market by the end of 2016. The company also plans to close up to 200 of its 700 retail banking branches by 2017, but retain branches in Germany and five other European markets.

Around €500 million will be invested in implementing digital solutions in the company’s retail banking business where it will be used to establish remote advisory channels and new client propositions, as well as to automate processes and increase operational efficiency.

Deutsche Bank’s course is clear and we reaffirm our commitment to being a leading global bank based in Germany. To achieve this, we must remain client-centric, but focus more sharply on mutually attractive client relationships, remain global, but become more geographically focused, and remain universal, but avoid trying to be all things to all people.” said Jürgen Fitschen and Anshu Jain, co-CEOs of Deutsche Bank

In addition, Deutsche Bank will scale back its securities business and reduce the investment-banking and trading activities that have become unprofitable. It will also exit up to ten of the 70 countries in which it currently operates.

Meanwhile, Deutsche plans to expand its asset and wealth management business by up to 10% per year until 2020 and strengthen its global transaction banking business, which provides products and services to corporations and financial institutions.

The reconfiguration is expected to cost a total of €3.7 billion.