Deutsche Bank is to reposition Bank 24 as a multi-channel cross-border bank. The German bank is also planning to launch a new pan-European online brokerage, Maxblue.
The pan-European growth strategy was fleshed out by Rolf Breuer, spokesman of the Board of Managing Directors at the bank's mid-year press conference in Frankfurt.
Deutsche Bank intends to pool its retail and personal banking activities in Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Belgium and Poland under the umbrella of Deutsche Bank 24. This bank will service 10.5 million customers with a workforce of about 21,000 and will have more than 2,000 branches.
In addition, Deutsche Bank is setting up a pan-European online broker as part of its new European strategy. It will enter the market with its own brand entitled Maxblue and will be available to its customers anytime and from anywhere, says Breuer.
Deutsche Bank is also re-organising its retail and private banking divisions to focus on the sale of capital markets products to private investors.
The new Deutsche Bank 24 will offer its services as a multi-channel bank via a bricks and clicks strategy, featuring online, call centre and branch access points in the major European countries. A new management team has been put in place for the relaunch, consisting of: Dr. Herbert Walter (CEO), Juan Carlos Garay, Dr. Achim Kassow and Rainer Neske.
Maxblue will operate as an adjunct to both Deutsche Bank and Bank 24. The bank plans to gain about 1.5 million of the approximately ten million customers who will be using online services in Europe during the next two to three years. Says Breuer: "Our goal is to be the number one in Europe in the online brokerage market."