Deutsche Bank to close NZ office as part of global restructure
Staff at Craigs Investment Partners will not be affected.
See also: Deutsche Bank NZ chief economist unsure of next move
Deutsche Bank will close its New Zealand office with 29 staff affected as part of a global restructure, but its partnership with Craigs Investment Partners will be "business as usual."
Germany’s biggest bank says it will exit from 10 countries and will cut about 29,000 full time staff as well as 6000 external contractor positions over the next two years.
Those countries include Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Malta, and New Zealand.
The announcement came after the bank reported a net loss of €6 billion for the third quarter.
“This is never an easy task, and we will not do so lightly. I promise that we will take great care in this process, moving forward together with our workers’ representatives,” Deutsche Bank co-chief executive John Cryan said.
The closure of the New Zealand office will involve the transfer of the bank’s fixed income trading activities to Sydney, subject to regulatory approval.
Deutsche Bank has a 49.9% stake in Craigs Investment Partners but this interest, as well as staff at Craigs, will not be affected, a Deutsche Bank spokeswoman says.
She says the bank will seek to minimise staff impact with the transfer of some roles to Australia and other offices.
“Deutsche Bank has always run an integrated Australia and New Zealand business with many New Zealand clients already serviced from Australia.
“Our immediate priority is to work together with clients, employees and other stakeholders to ensure the seamless transition of these activities.”
A memo sent to Craigs’ 380 staff this morning says it will be business as usual.
The German lender will reduce the number of clients in global markets and Deutsche Bank corporate and investment banking by about 50%, especially in “higher operating risk” countries, where approximately 30% of clients produce 80% of the revenue.
The cost cutting is expected to save about €3.8 billion, with associated restructuring and severance costs of around €3.0-3.5 billion and disposal of assets with a total cost base of approximately €4 billion.
See the full announcement here.
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Campbell Gibson
Fri, 30 Oct 2015
Fri, 30 Oct 2015
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Deutsche Bank to close NZ office as part of global restructure
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