APAC CEO Werner Steinmueller recently spoke with German business newspaper Handelsblatt about his growth plans for the region, including investment into the region, particularly around IT.

Handelsblatt noted that: “A good twelve per cent of the bank's income is generated in the Asia-Pacific region,” and Steinmueller wants to reposition the Asia businesses, which the bank considers an important market for the future. “This is to be achieved with investments in growth markets, a new management team and of course, a contribution to further cost reductions,” the newspaper said.

Deutsche Bank in December announced its decision to invest an additional 500 million euros of capital in India. The bank’s businesses in the country - as well as in China - recently grew at a double-digit rate, noted Handelsblatt.

Steinmueller sees the boom in new payment systems in countries such as China and India, where customers can use apps to conduct a large part of their everyday transactions, from paying electricity bills to buying rickshaws, as a key driver for growth for the bank in the region.