Germany-based lender Deutsche Bank is planning further consolidation of its operations and mulls closing its branches in Italy and Spain and shift its focus to its wealthy clients, media reports said.
According to Claudio de Sanctis, who oversees Deutsche Bank’s retail business outside Germany, the bank is moving away from covering the needs of all retail clients in those countries. Instead, the lender will focus on serving its wealthy clients who demand more sophisticated investments.
During an interview, he told the media, “It is a fantastic funnel. If you have the strategy of doing affluent, you end up doing a massive amount of high net worth and ultra-high net worth.”
Earlier this month, Deutsche Bank announced that it has acquired Berlin-based payment service provider Better Payment for an undisclosed amount. The deal is expected to help Deutsche Bank expand its market share in the fast-growing online payment processing market.
According to media reports, Deutsche Bank will integrate Better Payment’s technical solutions into its existing product range over the next 12 months.
Kilian Thalhammer, head of merchant solutions at Deutsche Bank told the media, “Better Payment gives us broader market access in payment processing. Thanks to the know-how of their employees, their existing dealer relationships and technical solutions, we can accelerate our growth in the German market, which is key to us.”
“We will develop additional synergies by integrating the respective products from Deutsche Bank and Better Payments.”