Deutsche Bank
August 16th, 2008
Deutsche Bank has offices in finance-hubs, including Frankfurt, London, Birmingham, Moscow, New York, Singapore, Sydney, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Furthermore, the bank is investing in expanding markets such as the Middle East, Latin America, Central & Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific.
The bank offers financial products and services for corporate and institutional clients along with private and business clients. Services include sales, trading and origination of debt and equity, risk management products such as derivatives, corporate finance, wealth management, retail banking, fund management and transaction banking.
Deutsche Bank’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Group Executive Committee, since 2002, is Dr. Josef Ackermann. The Bank in terms of is revenues, is one of the top three investment banks in the world. Deutsche Bank is listed on both the Frankfurt (FWB) and New York stock exchanges (NYSE).
Deutsche Bank was founded in Germany in January 1870 as a specialist bank for foreign trade in Berlin. Its first branches, inaugurated in 1871 and 1872 were opened in Bremen, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Leipzig and Dresden.
The Bank’s first foray overseas came shortly afterwards, in Shanghai (1872) and London (1873). Already, at this early stage, the bank was looking further afield, making investments in North and South America, Asia and Turkey.
Furthermore, major projects in the early years of the bank included the Northern Pacific Railroad in the US and the Baghdad Railway (1888). In Germany, the bank was instrumental in the financing bond offerings of steel company Krupp (1885) and introduced the chemical company Bayer to the Berlin stock market.
The bank merged with other local banks in 1929 to create Deutsche Bank und DiscontoGesellschaft, at that point the biggest ever merger in German banking history. In 1937, the company name changed back to Deutsche Bank.
Following Germany's defeat in the second world war, the Allied authorities, in 1948, ordered Deutsche's break-up into ten regional banks. These 10 regional banks were later consolidated into three major banks in 1952: Norddeutsche Bank AG; Süddeutsche Bank AG; and Rheinisch-Westfälische Bank AG.
In 1957, these three banks merged to form Deutsche Bank AG with its headquarters in Frankfurt. Two years later, the bank entered retail banking by introducing small personal loans. In the 1970s, the bank pushed ahead with international expansion, opening new offices in new locations such as Moscow, London, Paris and Tokyo. In the 1980s, this continued with the acquisition of Banca d’America e d’Italia, the first time the bank had acquired a sizeable branch location in another European country.
In 1989, the first steps towards creating a significant investment banking presence were taken with the acquisition of Morgan Grenfell, a UK-based investment bank. By the mid-1990s, the build up of a capital markets operation had got underway with the arrival of a number of high profile figures from major competitors. Ten years after the acquisition of Morgan Grenfell, the U.S. firm, Bankers Trust, was added.
In 2001, Deutsche Bank was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The following year, Deutsche Bank strengthened its U.S. presence when it purchased Scudder Investments. Meanwhile, in Europe, Deutsche Bank increased its private banking business by acquiring Rued Blass & Cie (2002) and Russian investment bank United Financial Group (2006). In Germany, further acquisitions of Noris Bank and Berliner Bank strengthened Deutsche Bank’s retail offering in its home market. This series of acquisitions was closely aligned to the bank’s strategy of bolt-on acquisitions in preference to so-called “transformational” mergers. These formed part of an overall growth strategy that also targeted a sustainable 25% return on equity, something the bank achieved in 2005.
In little over a decade, Deutsche Bank’s CIB has established itself as one of the world’s leading investment banking houses. CIB comprises the bank’s high profile and market-leading Global Markets business and Global Banking, which brings together advisory, equity capital markets and transaction banking business.
Global Markets contributes a major slice of Deutsche Bank’s profitability and revenues. The business is responsible for capital markets business including sales and trading of debt and equity, derivatives and other innovative products. Global Markets’ prowess in bond markets, foreign exchange and derivatives has brought many awards and accolades over the past five years.
Global Banking comprises a major Merger & Acquisitions (M&A) practice that has grown significantly over the past five years. In 2007, the bank’s M&A business, in competition with banks and institutions with long-standing and well established M&A reputations, made further strides in building a world-class franchise. Global Banking also includes an equity capital markets business that has a significant and innovative presence in the European initial public offering (IPO) market.
Global Transaction Banking, which forms part of Global Banking, deals with cash management, clearing, trade finance and trust & securities services.
CIB’s clients are mainly private and public sector institutions, including sovereign states, supranational bodies, global and multinational companies and medium-sized and small businesses.
