Deutsche Bank’s finance chief said the lender would not mirror rivals’ “aggressive” promotions to win new customers, maintaining confidence in its ability to cope up with tough competition.
Notably, the move follows JPMorgan’s May launch of its Chase digital retail bank in Germany, with a 4% deposit rate for new customers for four months. That business will operate through a mobile-only model.
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Raja Akram, Deutsche Bank’s chief financial officer, said at a financial conference that competition was familiar, even if the firms involved had changed, reported Reuters.
“What is happening is they’re coming with very aggressive promotions, which, by the way, we never match,” Akram said, without referring to JPMorgan directly.
Deutsche Bank’s Postbank brand has nevertheless introduced a 3.2% promotional rate for new clients’ deposits over six months, while its smaller Norisbank brand is offering a 4% rate and a one-time bonus for customers switching from another bank.
“We are not going after brand-new clients to raise deposits. We already have the funnel set up. They already have a relationship with us,” Akram said.
“The question would be, who is more likely to lose deposits if a large US bank was to enter? Is it going to be Deutsche Bank, which is a bread-and-butter relationship-driven multiple-product bank, or is it a single-product digital offering bank that actually was only competing on rate and as soon as that rate expires, they lose deposits?” he said.
