Deutsche Bank Wealth Management poaches Credit Suisse head of private banking

Deutsche Bank trade revenues in its corporate and investment banking (CIB) division were 'essentially flat in the second quarter of 2018, with improved business momentum offset by lower revenues in structured products due to ongoing margin compression', according to the bank's quarterly results.

During the second quarter of 2018, the bank's CIB made 'significant progress' in reducing leverage exposure and front office headcount. Income before income taxes in the second quarter of 2018 was down to €475m compared to the € 611m recorded on second quarter of 2017.

'The decrease year over year was mainly driven by higher noninterest expenses from higher restructuring costs in the current quarter,' stated the bank.

In the retail structured products market, Deutsche Bank appears as the bond provider in 108 tranche-based structures worth US$900m sold across databases in the second quarter of 2018. During this period the German bank hedged over 50 products in Germany/Austria; 19 products in Japan sold by Monex Securities, SBI Securities, Deutsche Securities, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities and Chugin Securities; and 18 products in the US market sold by Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan Chase. Deutsche was also active in Italy (eight), Belgium (seven), Luxembourg (four), and Spain (one product). The German bank was also a top five distributor with over 33,000 products including non-retail, flow and leverage structures marketed in Europe, mostly in Germany.

Deutsche's CIB net revenues for the second quarter of 2018 were €3.6bn, a decrease of €39m or 1 % year over year as higher revenues within global transaction banking and origination and advisory were largely offset by lower sales and trading in fixed income and currencies (FIC) revenues. Global transaction banking net revenues were €1bn, an increase of €41m or 4%. Revenues included a €57m gain on sale on an asset disposal which was completed during the quarter.

The German bank also reported that trust, agency and securities services revenues were significantly higher, driven by the 'gain on sale and strong business momentum'.

Origination and advisory generated net revenues of €577mn in the second quarter of 2018, an increase of €14m, or 2 %'. FIC sales and trading net revenues were €1.4bn, a decrease of €274m or 17 % while equity sales & trading generated net revenues of €540m, a decrease of €37m, or 6 %.

Wealth management
Despite a number of high-profile departures at Deutsche Bank's markets and equity derivatives during the second quarter, the German bank promoted a number of staffers in April to fill the boots of previous senior managers axed during the most recent restructuring, and has turned the focus on the expansion of its wealth management business.
The German bank has announced that Claudio de Sanctis (pictured) will join Deutsche Bank Wealth Management as head of Europe. De Sanctis joins Deutsche on December 1, 2018, from Credit Suisse, where he spent five years, most recently as head of private banking, Europe.

De Sanctis will be based in Zurich, reporting to Fabrizio Campelli, global head of wealth management. In this newly formed role, de Sanctis will help boost growth in the region by building on its leading position serving clients in Germany and other domestic markets.

The newly formed Europe region includes Germany, where Deutsche Bank Wealth Management is the market leader, and more than a dozen other markets including Switzerland, the UK, Italy, Spain and France, where the German bank is seeking to leverage on its direct management and structured products offering.

Prior to joining Credit Suisse as head Southeast Asia in 2013, de Sanctis spent seven years at UBS Wealth Management Europe, most recently as market head Iberia and Nordics. Earlier in his career he was head of key clients unit Europe at Barclays private banking focusing on ultra-high-net worth (UHNW) clients and also worked at Merrill Lynch Private Wealth Management Emea.

Campelli said that Deutsche Bank is investing in growing wealth management as a core element of its strategic objective to achieve a more stable and balanced business mix.

'The business has made a series of high-profile hires in recent months and built out areas such as wealth planning, philanthropy and risk-return engineering,' said Campelli

The bank's asset management business including DWS saw its revenues standing at €561m, 17% lower than in the second quarter of 2017. However, assets under management rose by €14bn to €692bn during the quarter. During the second quarter of 2018, DWS ranked second in exchange-traded products (ETP) net inflows in the European market with a 18.5% share of market flows (source: ETFGI), and introduced its robo platform to the European unit-linked insurance market.

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