Deutsche Bank's Frankfurt headquarters. The global banking giant is shedding 35,000 staff and will shut its NZ operation. Photo / AP
Deutsche Bank's Frankfurt headquarters. The global banking giant is shedding 35,000 staff and will shut its NZ operation. Photo / AP
Deutsche Bank is closing its New Zealand operation as part of a global overhaul that will see the German bank exit 10 countries and shed 35,000 staff.
A spokeswoman said the bank employed 29 Auckland-based staff in fixed income and business support roles.
New Zealand clients would be serviced from Australia following the closure, which was expected to be completed by the end of next year, she said.
The transfer is subject to regulatory approval.
The spokeswoman said the restructuring would have no impact on local share brokerage Craigs Investment Partners, which is 49.9 per cent owned by Deutsche Bank.
In a memo Craigs managing director Frank Aldridge said the firm's wholly-owned investment banking subsidiary, DeutscheCraigs, was also unaffected and would continue to offer a "full suite" of domestic services.
"We will continue to operate seamlessly with our colleagues at [Deutsche Bank] Australia and enjoy the benefits our strategic alliance offers," he said. "For us it is very much business as usual."
Deutsche Bank will slash 9000 full-time jobs, 6000 contractor positions and sell operations with 20,000 more workers.
Auckland-based Deutsche Bank staff were being briefed about the plan today and there was an opportunity for some local roles to be transferred to Australia and other offices.
"Deutsche Bank has always run an integrated Australia and New Zealand business with many New Zealand clients today already serviced from Australia," the spokeswoman said.
"The decision to consolidate our fixed income trading activities into Australia aligns with Deutsche Bank's global ambitions to simplify its business operations while recognising that we can conduct New Zealand trading activities from Sydney."
News of the Deutsche Bank closure follows Goldman Sachs' announcement last week that it is looking to shift its Auckland-based securities trading business across the Tasman, which will affect fewer than 20 jobs.
Deutsche Bank reported a net loss of 6 billion euros for the third quarter. The bank took a 5.8 billion euro hit from writing down the value of its investment bank and the Postbank retail bank.
The bank will not pay a dividend this year and next year to retain capital and strengthen its finances against possible financial turbulence.
Chief executive John Cryan said at a news conference that the bank faced "hard decisions" as it restructures.
"We must reduce Deutsche Bank's complexity," he said.
Deutsche Bank chief executive John Cryan. Photo / AP
Of the 9000 internal job cuts, about 4000 will take place in Germany. Most of the cuts to be made through business sales will come by divesting Postbank.
Deutsche Bank has struggled to reduce costs and make its administration more transparent and ethical as it deals with uneven profits and investigations into rigging financial benchmarks.
Former co-CEO Anshu Jain resigned in June. The other co-CEO, Juergen Fitschen is leaving in May.
Cryan warned that "there will be consequences on compensation" when he was asked about the impact on executive bonuses but said he could not yet quantify them.
He said it would be "unacceptable not to share some of the costs that we have suffered" as a "consequence of poor historic behaviour".
The bank has set aside billions to pay for fines and legal settlements in a several cases, including the rigging by a number of banks of the key interest rate benchmark known as the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor.
The bank paid US$2.5 billion to regulators in Britain and the United States to settle the Libor case.
