The two European banks in a joint statement announced that the deal is now unconditional

BNP Paribas Duetsche Bank

Image: BNP Paribas to take on German bank’s prime finance clients. Photo: Courtesy of BNP Paribas.

BNP Paribas announced that it has secured approvals for its agreement on the transfer of clients, technology and key staff from Deutsche Bank’s global prime finance and electronic equities.

The two European banks in a joint statement announced that the deal is now unconditional and also stated that the approval was received within a short period due to the close collaboration between the teams within the two banks.

Deutsche Bank chief operating officer Frank Kuhnke said: “We are pleased to have signed the master transaction agreement with BNP Paribas on schedule. This is an important milestone for our Capital Release Unit and attests to the strength of our client offering and technology in these products.

“We are already making progress and are on the right track to implement this transaction thereby providing clear path for clients and staff.”

In September, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank had signed a master transaction agreement to provide continuity to Deutsche Bank’s global prime finance and electronic equities clients.

Under the agreement, Deutsche Bank had agreed to continue operating the platform until the clients could be migrated to BNP Paribas.

BNP Paribas deputy chief operating officer and corporate and institutional banking head Yann Gérardin said: “I’m excited to announce the signing of this agreement, thanks to the close cooperation between BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank teams.

“We are now looking forward to welcoming staff and serving these new clients. This agreement demonstrates BNP Paribas’ strong commitment to institutional investors globally.”

Deutsche Bank announced a major transformation this July

In July, Deutsche Bank announced a major transformation under which it had agreed to exist from its Equities Sales & Trading business while retaining a focused equity capital markets operation.

It had entered into a preliminary agreement with the French bank to provide continuity of service to its prime finance and electronic equities clients, with a view to transferring technology and staff to BNP Paribas in due course.

The transformation also included plans to become more profitable, improve shareholder returns and drive long-term growth. For the transformation, the bank aimed to downsize its investment bank and cut down its total costs by a quarter by 2022.