Deutsche Bank's Wealth Arm Names North Asia Group Head

Editorial Staff

13 January 2020

Deutsche Bank Wealth Management, part of , has appointed Boris Kwok as group head for North Asia, with a focus on China.

Kwok will report to Kanas Chan, managing director, head of North Asia. Kwok has almost 20 years’ experience in the industry and joins DBWM from Standard Chartered, where he had served in various roles since 2002 - the most recent of which was managing director, market head, China team. In that role, he managed a team of over 25 relationship managers and team heads covering Greater China.

The Germany-based firm said 20 “other talented front-facing wealth management professionals will join Boris”, six of whom are directors. It did not elaborate on names.

The wealth management side of Deutsche Bank is recruiting around 300 client-facing individuals over the next two years, putting money into this part of its operations while it cuts investment banking exposures. This move is seen as a way of reducing the lender’s capital costs and going after stickier sources of revenue.

Deutsche Bank said in July 2019 that it would shrink its total payroll by 18,000 over the next three years. About 3,000 people work in wealth management across all regions, and that figure is expected to hold steady. The division wants to cut its cost/income ratio by the changes. To see more about its financial plans and strategy, click here.