In what could be a serious blow to morale, the head of the German lender's Asian wealth business is leaving the firm after nine years. He is headed for a Swiss bank.
Investors in crisis-hit Deutsche Bank have no doubt been hoping that the bank can settle a major investigation with the U.S. Justice Department quickly. However, the lingering uncertainty seems to have proved too much for some.
Ravi Raju, the Hong Kong-based Head of Deutsche Bank Wealth Management APAC , has successfully been poached by UBS, a source told finews.asia.
The move was first reported by private banking news site «Asian Private Banker» (subscription).
Will Others Defect?
Formerly with Citi's private bank, Raju has been with Deutsche in Asia since 2007 and commands a fierce loyalty from his senior management team and relationship managers.
The move is a major blow for Deutsche, which will be worried that Raju's key bankers will will follow their leader to UBS.
This could seriously undermine the bank's efforts to bolster its private bank in bouyant markets like Asia, as its lessens its reliance on investment banking revenue.
