Deutsche Bank is to spend EUR1.9 billion on restructuring and IT following the merger of its consumer banking unit Postbank and its private and commercial clients business.
The merged unit, dubbed DB Privat- und Firmenkundenbank AG, serves more than 20 million private clients, around 50% of whom use the bank’s online offering, as well as one million commercial and corporate clients.
The giant German bank was forced to abandon plans to sell off Postbank in March after failing to find a buyer for the business. At the time, the bank anticipated running up a EUR1 billion bill on restructuring and severance costs.
The revised total spend is now almost double the original figures, as the bank embarks on a a major restructuring with the aim of achieving cost synergies of 900 million euros per year by 2022.
To achieve this a total of EUR1.9 billion will be spent on restructuring expenses and other investments, predominantly in IT as the bank moves to rationalise central functions and technology platforms.
Frank Strauß,head of Deutsche's private & commercial bank, says: “The new DB Privat- und Firmenkundenbank is also already Germany’s biggest online bank. We can and will expand this lead in digital transformation.”
In addition to the creation of an integrated online service for clients of Deutsche Bank and Postbank the new platform will be expanded to include new products and services "that go beyond traditional banking", says Strauß.
Further details will be revealed in 4Q2018.