Deutsche Bank to cut senior roles in private bank reorganization

Singapore: Deutsche Bank’s new head of retail and wealth management operations, Claudio de Sanctis, plans to eliminate a significant number of senior roles as the German lender seeks to cut costs.

De Sanctis is merging the division’s two existing leadership teams into one in a broader reorganization along regional lines, de Sanctis said in a memo to employees that confirmed a Bloomberg News story from last month. The move will make several senior roles redundant, a person familiar with the matter said.

German retail head Lars Stoy will oversee wealth management and private banking in Germany, while US wealth management head Arjun Nagarkatti will run private banking in central Europe and the US.

The wealth management and retail division has long struggled to generate profits amid low and negative interest rates in the euro area. However, the European Central Bank’s rapid series of rate hikes has pushed up returns more recently.

De Sanctis this month took over from departing Deutsche Bank President Karl von Rohr. The former Credit Suisse banker has been promoted several times since joining the German lender in late 2018.

Most recently, de Sanctis has been overseeing Deutsche Bank’s wealth management and international retail operations since mid-2020. Closing a large number of retail branches in Italy and Spain has been one focus of his work during that time.

Deutsche Bank has previously disclosed plans to cut more domestic retail branches and shrink its mortgage business in the country. De Sanctis is currently working out the details of those cuts, the person familiar with the matter said now.