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Deutsche Bank is bulking its wealth arm to counter its investment banking retreat. The German lender’s top private banker tells finews.com how he plans to crack the top-ten.

«I look forward to going back to quieter times,» Deutsche Bank’s top private banker Fabrizio Campelli tells finews.com. It may well be the understatement of the year.

The ex-McKinsey consultant is behind Deutsche’s push to revive its private bank, as it trades traditional strongholds like equity sales and trading and prime brokerage for business with the world’s super-rich. «In the long run, it will be a more stable business model,» said Campelli, ensconced in the bank’s wealth offices in London’s tony St. James neighborhood.

Campelli, who previously hammered out strategy for investment banker and former co-CEO Anshu Jain, has considerable resources. A year-long hiring spree has included Credit Suisse veteran Claudio de Sanctis, ex-Coutts leader Michael Morley, and Goldman Sachs’ Marco Pagliara.

Modest Loan Losses

How will he vault Deutsche Bank up the league table of wealth managers from its current 17th place? «We have 200 billion euros of cash or liquid instruments on our balance sheets,» said Campelli, who spent much of his career in investment banking, «so we have the ability to lend to clients on very competitive terms.»

Under Campelli, Deutsche targets the ultra-rich, and in particular entrepreneurs rather than old wealth. «Lending is one of our core portfolios and one that we have been known for,» he says.

«We have a large and growing loan portfolio, 40 percent of which is Lombard lending and the rest is structured financing.» Lending can be a double-edged sword though, one that smaller rivals have purposefully stayed away from. «Our loan losses, on average across cycles including the global financial crisis, are in the single-digit basis points,» Campelli says.

Italian Among Germans

One of the biggest challenges Campelli faces is weaning Deutsche off Germany, Inc. The domestic market made for nearly half – 43 percent – of Deutsche’s 199 billion euros ($219.4 billion) in wealth assets at year-end.

In Switzerland, de Sanctis hopes to win wealthy entrepreneurs from Germany, Italy, the U.K., Spain, as well as further afield such as Turkey, Latin America, and the Middle East.