Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank’s strategic partnership with Barclays, through which Barclays will leverage Deutsche’s scale business to provide its larger corporate customers with state-of-the-art cash management services in continental Europe, is potentially an industry-transforming deal. The structure encompasses account services, domestic and international payments and collections, liquidity management and electronic banking solutions, supported by a comprehensive customer service and streamlined documentation processes. While such an outsourcing arrangement is not unique elsewhere in the industry, this is the first partnership of its kind in Europe in the cash management arena. Similar structures between Deutsche as a global provider and other players are expected to follow suit. “In an aggressively consolidating environment, this development creates a win-win-win situation for Barclays’ customers and both partners. While the corporates have access to a first-class cash-management platform, Barclays will strengthen its prime relationships in the local market with a fully-fledged product range. Deutsche Bank will benefit from increased transaction volume that allows us to operate a profitable cash management franchise – a pre-condition for staying long-term in a business with an enormous cost base and ever-growing regulatory requirements,” says Norbert Wanninger, head of global cash management at Deutsche Bank. Deutsche’s ability to provide such services has been dependent on its strategic investment into “backbone” processing capabilities. This is underpinned by superior service, that Mr Wanninger describes as the absolute cornerstone of the business. Similarly, central to its globalisation of products and services is its continued investment into web-based technology, transforming the way business is conducted for both Deutsche and the client.
