Deutsche Bank

Berlin, March 1870. Ludwig Bamberger and Adelbert Delbrück founded Deutsche Bank with a specific mission: to finance German trade abroad. Within a few years, the bank opened branches in Shanghai and Yokohama, betting on the global ambitions of the newly unified German Empire. That international DNA has shaped the institution ever since.

Today the bank operates from its twin-tower headquarters in Frankfurt, employing roughly 90,000 people across 55 countries. Its four core divisions, Corporate Bank, Investment Bank, Private Bank, and DWS Asset Management, generated €32.1 billion in revenue in fiscal 2025. The balance sheet runs deep: a €479 billion loan book and about €1.7 trillion in client assets under management across DWS and the Private Bank.

Deutsche Bank has been a designated global systemically important bank since 2011 and has been under direct European Central Bank supervision since 2014. Its long history includes transformative acquisitions, Morgan Grenfell in 1990, Bankers Trust in 1998, Deutsche Postbank in 2010, and equally notable controversies: involvement in the Libor scandal, U.S. sanctions violations, and a long-running money-laundering investigation tied to Russia. A major restructuring launched in 2019 aimed to slim down the investment bank and refocus on core European corporate and wealth management clients. [edit]