Deutsche bank vaults into Brindley Place
The West Midlands has made another significant step forward in being a serious business location for big global businesses, with the decision by Deutsche Bank, the global investment bank, to set up offices in Birmingham city centre.
Deutsche Bank's plans for Birmingham are part of a global strategy to create a series of globally connected operating centres to support the processing needs of the Bank. Birmingham is the 4th city to be run under what is known as the DBOI Global Services operating model, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank.
The purpose of these centres is to provide Deutsche Bank with flexible cost effective choices on how to support business areas. A business line can now operate from the financial centre cities like London and New York, but can now avail themselves of DBOI Global Services offerings in near shore offices like Birmingham, as well as DBOI Global Services' off-shore offices in India.
While initially focused on the middle and back office support areas, the service centre concept is open to all aspects of Bank. The initial area being supported is Investment Banking Operations, although this scope is rapidly expanding.
The centre will ultimately cover the processing needs of Deutsche Bank in the United Kingdom, which currently employs over 8,000 employees, although other sites around the world are always being considered in conjunction with Birmingham. Additionally, Birmingham will also support elements of the global operation.
A number of factors were considered when selecting Birmingham as the near-shore location to London for Deutsche Bank operations. The Deutsche Bank team evaluated the availability of talent in the local market, and Birmingham having a maturing financial centre certainly met that need.
DBOI Global Services' off-shore financial operation in Manila, in the Philippines, was also considered as a location. However, the outstanding performance of an earlier pilot operation funded by Deutsche Bank in Birmingham, as well as the region's easy access to the City of London, were two of the key factors that put Birmingham in pole position.
Martin James Head of DBOI Global Services UK said "We received tremendous support from Advantage West Midlands when we were looking to set up a location in Birmingham. It was very clear to us that they wanted a global financial player like Deutsche Bank coming to the City."
The decision of global investment giant Deutsche Bank to open in Birmingham will enhance the West Midlands region's reputation as one of the fastest growing professional centres in Europe.
DBOI Global Services will occupy nearly 69,000 sq ft of space at 1 Brindleyplace. The Bank is expected to employ around 250 permanent staff at a new operational processing centre by the end of 2008.
In the West Midlands, the financial services sector employs 120,000 people and is the fastest growing provider of GVA growth in the region
DBOI Global Services will join a comprehensive range of banking and financial services within the West Midlands: the generalist providers include all the key 5 British banks (Barclays, HBoS, HSBC, LloydsTSB and RBS-NatWest); mid-tier providers such as AIB, Bank of Ireland and Yorkshire Bank; also Investment Banks and specialist providers including N M Rothschild & Co, Islamic Bank of Britain, Arbuthnot Banking, Goldman Sachs & Co, and Unity Trust Bank.
Deutsche Bank was founded in 1870 and has since developed into a leading global investment bank which employs over 78,000 people worldwide. It is one of Germany's largest listed companies with over 348,000 shareholders of which 46% are non residents of Germany.
