Deutsche Bank's Private Banking Division Plans Expansion in Emerging Markets

Deutsche Bank's Growth Strategy in Emerging Markets

By Rae Wee

SINGAPORE, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank plans to add up to 50 relationship managers in its emerging markets private banking unit this year, said a senior executive, as the European lender seeks to bolster its wealth footprint in the Gulf region and North Asia.

Marco Pagliara, head of emerging markets at Deutsche Bank Private Bank, told Reuters that "selective hiring" would also continue in 2027 and 2028, without giving specific targets or disclosing the number of relationship managers it has by region.

Focus on Relationship Managers

The hiring spree is part of the private bank's aim to grow its emerging markets front office headcount by 50% over the next three years. A large number of the 250 bankers it aims to hire under a previously announced plan are set to be in the franchise.

CAPTURING GROWING GLOBAL WEALTH

Trends in Wealth Management

The move comes as global banks have been ramping up their private banking offerings in recent years, especially in the fast-growing regions of Asia and the Middle East, to tap into the expanding population of millionaires and billionaires.

Global financial wealth reached an all-time high of $305 trillion in 2024, according to Boston Consulting Group's Global Wealth Report 2025.

Diversification, including where investors hold assets and how they allocate capital, has been a growing theme among the bank's wealthy clients, Pagliara said, amid rising global market volatility.

For instance, clients who previously held assets in Singapore or Hong Kong are now more likely to use other wealth centres as well, like Switzerland, Luxembourg and the UK, he said, as allocations to Europe-domiciled investments increase.

Switzerland will be another focus of the private bank's headcount expansion, Pagliara added.

The trend is in line with a push from money managers to invest in a broader range of asset classes across markets, particularly away from the United States, as geopolitical ructions and unpredictable policymaking weigh on sentiment.

"This diversification not only reflects (ultra-high-net-worth) family aspirations for global assets like real estate, it also reflects the clients' desire to diversify assets geographically to mitigate geopolitical risk," Pagliara said.

Lombard Lending Opportunities

GROWING APPETITE FOR LEVERAGE

Lombard lending - where private banking clients borrow against the value of their investment portfolios - is another area where the private bank is aiming to double down amid growing interest.

"Right now, I'm seeing more clients using the dry powder they've got," Frankfurt-headquartered Deutsche Bank Private Bank's global head of wealth management and business lending, Adam Russ, said in a separate interview.

"It's not a case of clients aggressively leveraging, but they are just taking leverage up a tick."

According to a 2024 report by Deloitte, Lombard lending, which helps private banks expand their assets under management, has been one of the fastest growing credit products since 2018, with a global market size of around $4.3 trillion.

"There's a lot of pent-up supply that can be used if people feel real conviction around certain trades, which is good, you know, being in a market like we're in right now," said Russ.

"Lombard lending is becoming more and more of a focus for us."

(Reporting by Rae Wee; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Kevin Buckland)