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Deutsche Bank Is Said to Close Brazil Investment Bank Unit

The German lender that is making cuts outside its home country, is closing its investment bank in Brazil. 

Deutsche Bank Is Said to Close Brazil Investment Bank Unit
The Deutsche Bank AG logo sits on the skyscraper headquarter offices in Frankfurt, Germany. (Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Bank AG, the German lender that is making cuts outside its home country, is closing an investment bank unit in Brazil, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

The unit had six employees, including two managing directors -- Waldo Perez and Joel Roberto -- and a director, Joao Auler, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter isn’t public. Auler moved to another area of the bank, while the other five have left, one of the people said.

“We are committed to Brazil and are sharpening our focus in the country,” Deutsche Bank said Friday in an emailed statement, declining to comment further. The bank will continue to provide transaction banking services in Brazil and plans to strengthen that part of its investment banking division, a spokesman in Frankfurt said by phone.

Auler, Cruz and Roberto didn’t reply to messages seeking comment.

Germany’s largest lender said Thursday that it will scale back U.S. rates sales and trading, reduce the corporate finance business in the U.S. and Asia, and review its global equities business. A person with knowledge of the matter said the bank was planning to cut U.S. jobs by more than 10 percent.

Last month, the bank appointed Maite Leite as its chief Brazil officer, replacing Renato Grelle, who had been in the position since June 2016. Deutsche Bank cut half its employees in Brazil in 2016 as it moved trading to other units.

To contact the reporters on this story: Felipe Marques in Sao Paulo at fmarques10@bloomberg.net, Cristiane Lucchesi in Sao Paulo at clucchesi5@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Dan Reichl, Steven Crabill

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