A man walks past Deutsche Bank offices in London.Luke MacGregor/Reuters
Deutsche Bank AG may shift about €300-billion ($436-billion) from the balance sheet of its British entity to Frankfurt as client trading and assets migrate to the continent following Britain's decision to leave the European Union, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The project, dubbed Bowline, calls for trading in the German city to go live in September, 2018, and for the assets to be moved over by March, 2019, said the person, who asked for anonymity in discussing internal matters. Shifting €300-billion would be equivalent to almost a fifth of Deutsche Bank's balance sheet, which listed €1.59-trillion in total assets at the end of last year.
Monika Schaller, a spokeswoman for Deutsche Bank, declined to comment.
Chief executive officer John Cryan told employees in a recent videotaped message that he's girding for a hard Brexit, with the "vast majority" of trades currently booked in London probably moving to Frankfurt, but the bank hasn't officially detailed its plan. People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the lender intends to move chunks of trading and investment-banking assets from London to Frankfurt, with the jobs of several hundred traders and as many as 20,000 client accounts likely to be shifted.
"There's an awful lot of detail to be ironed out and agreed," Mr. Cryan said in the video. "But inevitably roles will need to be either moved, or at least added in Frankfurt."
Under Bowline, trade and balance-sheet migration will begin in September, 2018, with six months required for the move of the balance sheet, the person said. The bank plans to start informing clients from September, 2017, that their contracts will be switched to Frankfurt. It wants to have built front-to-back technology and processes by June, 2018, according to the person.
Much of Deutsche Bank's trading in Europe is traditionally booked in London, which gained a prominent role for the bank under Mr. Cryan's predecessors Anshu Jain and Josef Ackermann.
Mr. Cryan has spent the past two years scaling back capital-intensive debt trading and settling misconduct cases that occurred mostly before his arrival. The Brexit-driven relocation dovetails with his reorganization of the investment bank to emphasize the corporate business in its home market.
Deutsche Bank's Brexit planning is overseen by the two co-heads of Deutsche Bank's investment bank, Frankfurt-based Marcus Schenck and London-based Garth Ritchie, as well as the executive board member in charge of compliance, Sylvie Matherat.