Deutsche Bank is going to give another twist to its business in Spain. The objective is to reduce costs and be more profitable, while it intends to strengthen its private banking and gradually reduce its retail business, as it is doing in Germany and in the challenge of its European subsidiaries. The bank has already closed a dozen branches in Spain this summer, and now plans to continue with these closures. It now has 158 branches in the country. These closures were accompanied by the departure of some 30 employees, of which 5 were dismissals and the rest early retirement.
Now, and as announced by Claudio de Sanctis, global head of wealth management at Deutsche Bank in an interview, the bank plans to once again cut the number of branches in several countries, including Spain, and promote high net worth banking.
Deutsche Bank has already started a strategic plan in the midst of the pandemic in the new division of IPB Internacional, the result of the merger of WM and PCB, which Sanctis directs. This plan includes reinforcing the private banking business to the detriment of retail banking in Italy and Spain, a country in which this change has already begun, ahead of Italy, which will see the creation of a series of emblematic branches more adapted to the needs of the this customer segment. Now, the goal is to close some offices again and create larger branches.
With regard to the bank for entrepreneurs, the placement between the commercial teams of wealth management and corporate banking and commercial banking has been expanded to serve large family-owned companies and SMEs with the aim of managing the wealth of the owners as well as your business needs. The entity has recruited 25 professionals for private banking and wealth management this year.
The bank for entrepreneurs has already been launched in Italy and is expected to be formalized in Spain before the end of the year.
Deutsche Bank closed the first half of the year with a profit in Spain of 6.42 million, 32.83% less than in the same period of 2020, when it obtained 9.55 million. The entity explains this drop by the increase in impairment due to credit provisions and higher expenses for computer services.