In an interview with the Financial Times, Fabrizio Campelli, global head of wealth management at the company said new managers at the wealth management arm of Deutsche Bank will focus on wealthy people and families predominantly in Asia-Pacific.
The EMEA strategy will also centre around the super-rich in the UK and Middle East as well as entrepreneurs and wealthy individuals in the US.
“In each region we will have a more nuanced approach to the market,” Campelli told the publication.
Campelli also revealed that the unit will invest a further €65m (£57m, $72m) in “digital capabilities”, such as portfolio health checks and customised market news, that would reflect “new demographics in the business”.
Deutsche Bank split its asset management and wealth management divisions in 2015, spinning off Deutsche Bank Wealth Management as a standalone part of its private and business clients arm.
Private bank M&A
Deutsche’s move comes at a pivotal time for the industry in Asia after a number of banks have streamlined their operations by selling off their private and wealth management units in recent months.
In December 2016, Edmond de Rothschild (Suisse) announced the closing of its Hong Kong branch. Days before EdR’s announcement, Dutch bank ABN Amro sold its private banking operations in Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai, totalling $20bn in assets under management, to LGT.
Australian bank, ANZ, sold its Asian wealth management and retail units for a loss to DBS in October 2016.
Two years earlier, Singapore-based DBS, the largest bank in Southeast Asia, also bought the private banking activities of Societe Generale in Singapore and Hong Kong.
In April 2016, Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) closed the acquisition of Coutts’ wealth management operations in Hong Kong and Singapore, which brought $9bn to the bank’s platform.
