In 2003, we combined our business with private and business clients throughout Europe in the Private & Business Clients Corporate Division (PBC). We now offer our services and products in seven European countries – including our core markets Germany, Spain and Italy – under the Deutsche Bank brand and uniform management.
In Europe, Deutsche Bank covers a business volume of roughly € 230 billion for more than 13 million customers. We have approximately 50 million personal contacts with clients each year and 25 million contacts by telephone. There are also a further 50 million contacts through our online channels. Some 1,200 mobile financial advisors also visit customers at home if they wish.
At the core of our business model is the provision of a holistic advisory and coverage service from one source to eight attractive customer groups. Our tailored financial solutions are aligned exactly with the client’s life phase at any given time.
To penetrate the market, we need strong distribution units. In 2003, therefore, we modernized our entire branch network consisting of some 1,300 Investment & Finance Centers, of which 770 are in Germany. We offer the full range of products and services at all locations through new integrated teams that share responsibility for all client segments. With this structure, we can also increase the number of products sold per customer.
To free our sales force of administrative work and to raise their efficiency, we streamlined the central service units and also simplified internal procedures and processes.
Bank customers of today want qualified and comprehensive advice. To meet this need, we developed “db Financial and Asset Planning”. This innovative advisory program allows a clearly structured financial analysis tailored to the customer’s situation, from which a financial plan can be subsequently derived, taking account of private and business aspects alike.
In the reporting year, we implemented strategic partnerships with seven leading international asset managers, enabling us to offer our customers a broader and at the same time high quality investment fund offering in conjunction with advisory.
At 850 sites in Germany we have installed a more advanced generation of self-service terminals with optical character recognition functions, making it much easier for our customers to settle their day-to-day payments business. This also applies to the combined cash deposit and withdrawal machines already available at some sites.
We successfully completed our strategic realignment of the Private & Business Clients Corporate Division in 2003. We improved our range of products and reduced our costs. At the same time, we laid the foundations for future growth. We are confident that we can continue to increase revenues and profits in PBC.