Deutsche Bank’s Next Strategy to Focus on Asia and Perhaps Deals

(Bloomberg) --

Deutsche Bank AG’s next strategy will consider themes such as growth in Asia, and it may include acquisitions, Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing said Friday, in the first indication of his vision beyond the current turnaround strategy.

Sustainability and providing risk management solutions to companies are other topics the lender is looking at as it starts planning for the future, Sewing said at a virtual conference hosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Kian Abouhossein. Deutsche Bank will actively consider takeovers of other financial services companies once its turnaround translates into a higher market capitalization for the bank, he said.

Sewing said he will present a new strategy in the course of next year, when his four-year turnaround plan ends. The CEO has won recognition from regulators and analysts for restoring profitability and investor confidence, after years of botched restructurings under his predecessors.

A long-time proponent of bank consolidation in Europe, he reiterated that deals eventually will happen given the sheer number of lenders. Deutsche Bank doesn’t want to be a junior partner in any such transactions, and it will have more managerial resources to work on M&A opportunities once the turnaround is complete, he said. 

Transformational deals are becoming conceivable for Deutsche Bank’s top management, Bloomberg reported earlier this year. Credit Suisse Group AG came up as one option in internal talks, people familiar with the matter said at the time.

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