TECH

Deutsche Bank wants to speed up branch closings at cost

Deutsche Bank plans to accelerate cuts in the retail branch network in Germany as part of CEO Christian Sewing's plan to reduce costs.
The extent of the cuts depends, in part, on the results of a pilot project in which the bank would serve customers of its two domestic retail brands, Deutsche Bank and Postbank, at the same agency, according to people familiar with the matter. Some executives are skeptical about the test, people said, who declined to be identified.
The German retail unit is under pressure to cut costs after Manfred Knof, who runs the division, pledged to generate 1 billion euros ($ 1.1 billion) of the 2.5 billion euros in savings that Sewing promised to achieve through the bank's main divisions by the end of 2022. The expectation is that the closing or reduction of branches will generate savings of around 200 million euros, said Knof.
"We continue to adjust our branch network as we have always done," said a spokeswoman by email. "We do not plan a program for closing branches further."
Deutsche Bank has already closed about 400 branches in Germany in the past four years. Currently, the bank has approximately 1,300, of which about 500 are branches of Deutsche Bank and the rest are Postbank.
Deutsche Bank bought Postbank - Germany's former postal service finance unit - in 2010, but only recently started to integrate it. As a result, Knof is focused on eliminating redundancies for staff and IT employees.
Other initiatives by the person in charge of the retail unit involve the renegotiation of third party contracts. The executive recently received proposals for a long-term insurance distribution contract with Zurich Insurance, people familiar with the talks said. 

by Steven Arons