Deutsche Bank to beef up trade finance in emerging markets

[August 16, 2017]  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank plans to beef up its trade finance business in the developing world, creating new jobs and investing in technology, it said on Wednesday.

The head quarters of Germany's Deutsche Bank are photographed early evening in Frankfurt, Germany, January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo

The focus is on Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, and central and eastern Europe, Germany's largest bank said.

It plans to hire between 20 and 30 people for those locations and will invest "a middle two digit million euro figure" in information technology over the next three years, it said.

Daniel Schmand, who heads the bank's trade finance division, told journalists that he sees unmet demand for trade financing in particular for small and medium-sized companies.

"Germany is an export nation that needs strong financing competence," Schmand said.

Competitors in the market include Commerzbank <CBKG.DE>, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, HSBC <HSBA.L> and Citigroup <C.N>, he said.

Deutsche Bank wants to gradually increase its market share in the business, which currently stands at a two-digit percent market share in Germany, he said.

(Reporting by Tom Sims; editing by Susan Thomas)

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