For Deutsche Bank Group, India is a very important market as the country is one of the top growth locations for the German major. India also boasts of the largest international presence that the bank has outside Germany and is among the top five P&L global contributors.
So, it does not come as a surprise that the bank is fully focused on the Indian market and clients – not only those who are in India but also those that are looking at India as a hub in the light of reducing dependency on China.
“India as a country is growing, and is also reorganising itself,” says Kaushik Shaparia, CEO, Deutsche Bank Group, India.
“As large multinationals look at their location strategy, (China-Plus-One), we will find many wanting to set up in India. I'm spending a lot of time with my global network to send this whole India message out to our client base,” he adds.
This assumes significance considering the fact that, as per government data, India attracted a record $83.57 billion through foreign direct investment in FY22—a 20-fold rise compared to $4.3 billion in FY04.
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Shaparia, who has been with the German banking major for nearly four decades, further believes that his bank would play a major role in the Indian market, as an increasing number of businesses would have a relook at their strategies in the light of the new macroeconomic and geopolitical factors.
“There are a lot of good companies, which will need support as they reorganise and restructure themselves. So, I think there is an important role which we can play. With equity funding becoming tougher, we see an opportunity for debt funding, not just working capital, but also structured finance. Secondly, the need to hedge is critical in today’s volatile markets. In this area, we have significant expertise and offer a fair amount of solutions. So, I see that as a very big opportunity,” he says.
Deutsche Bank set up its first India branch in Mumbai in 1980 and since then has grown to become one of the largest foreign banks in India with a presence in 18 locations across the country. In India, Deutsche Bank has over 2,000 corporate & institutional clients and over 1.5 lakh retail customers with a strong presence in various segments including commercial banking, investment banking, wealth management and retail banking.
“We address all segments, be it retail, SME, corporate, wholesale, investment banking, structured financing, fixed income & currencies. So, essentially the whole gamut,” says Shaparia, while adding that Deutsche Bank is “probably amongst the most profitable banks in retail in the market and amongst all foreign banks”.
The German bank is also a major player in the Indian e-commerce space and has a strong ‘New Age’ practice as well wherein it looks at newer companies including the all-important segment of start-ups and unicorns.
“We need to look at tomorrow's winners also. India is changing a lot, and today we have many new companies which were not there before. It’s not just about size, we look at growth and appetite for new markets etc. As such, we have a very strong New Age practice, new economy practice, as a lot of these new companies are Unicorns, and we deal with many of those,” says the India honcho.
“At Deutsche Bank, we are passionate about our tradition as the Global Hausbank… Hausbank is a German term, meaning that you are the first point of contact for all your client’s financial needs… There's not a single area in which we don't have plans to grow,” says Shaparia.
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