Deutsche Bank prepares to seize Hong Kong, mainland China business upswing while rivals retrench during IPO, deal slump
- The Frankfurt-based lender, which set foot in China in 1872, has been strengthening its capital markets teams while rivals cut jobs, APAC CEO says
- ‘That gives us a unique opportunity to operate in a kind of countercyclical way, and be strategic’ and ready for the upswing
Deutsche Bank is sharpening its focus on China business to capitalise on gaps created by the withdrawal of its investment banking rivals, betting on the world’s second largest economy to build on its post-Covid recovery momentum, according to top Asia-Pacific boss.
The bank, which first set up shop in China in Shanghai in 1872, or seven years after HSBC, has been strengthening its corporate finance division and enhanced its presence in the debt and equity capital markets over the past two years amid a slump in deal-making and stock offering, while peers including Credit Suisse imploded while Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley trimmed jobs.
“We know that many of our competitors are reducing capacity in this business, in Hong Kong and elsewhere,” Alexander von zur Muehlen, CEO for Asia-Pacific, said in an interview in Hong Kong. “That gives us a unique opportunity to operate in a kind of countercyclical way, and be strategic.”
UBS was reportedly looking to cut 90 jobs across its private and investment banking units in Asia, mainly in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. Bank of America in January announced around 20 job cuts in Asia, mainly affecting Hong Kong-based bankers and those who work on China deals.