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Deutsche Bank Japan Head Kuwahara Leaves for Credit Suisse

Deutsche Bank Japan Head Kuwahara to Leave After Five Years

(Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Bank AG’s Japan chief Makoto Kuwahara will leave the German lender after five years in charge of operations in the country, to join Credit Suisse Group AG.

Kuwahara, who is also president of local unit Deutsche Securities Inc., is departing to pursue other interests, Deutsche Bank said in a statement on Tuesday. He will be replaced by Tamio Honma, head of global markets in Japan and co-head of the institutional client group for Asia-Pacific. Honma, 49, will retain his existing responsibilities, according to the statement.

Kuwahara, 46, is the latest senior departure from Deutsche Bank, which is cutting costs and concentrating more on European customers as part of a global overhaul under Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing. Meanwhile Credit Suisse recently completed a three-year overhaul and is hiring senior executives from its rivals in Asia.

Kuwahara will start his new role in mid-November, based in Tokyo, Credit Suisse said in a separate statement Tuesday. He will report to the bank’s Asia-Pacific CEO Helman Sitohang.

Deutsche’s Departures

Southeast Asia vice chairman and Singapore chief Philip Lee is departing to pursue other interests, an internal memo showed earlier this month. In Japan, the bank’s asset management unit chief Daisuke Toki left in June.

Werner Steinmueller, chief executive officer for Asia Pacific and a member of the management board, took an upbeat view of the firm’s business in Japan.

Honma, who joined Deutsche Bank in 1996, is “very well positioned” to ensure Japanese and overseas client service, Steinmueller said in the statement. “I am confident that under his leadership, our Japan business will continue to thrive.”

--With assistance from Steven Arons and Cathy Chan.

To contact the reporters on this story: Elffie Chew in Kuala Lumpur at echew16@bloomberg.net;Gareth Allan in Tokyo at gallan11@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Scent at bscent@bloomberg.net, ;Sam Mamudi at smamudi@bloomberg.net, Russell Ward, Jeanette Rodrigues

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.