The business provides services primarily to financial intermediaries and corporate clients. As it seeks to make its operations simpler and more efficient, Deutsche Bank has made a strategic decision to sell its banking and custody business in the Cayman Islands and Channel Islands, and will refer its clients to Butterfield to which they will have the opportunity to transfer their banking relationships.
Butterfield, a leading offshore bank and trust company that has operated in Cayman and Guernsey for over 50 years and 45 years, respectively, will work closely with Deutsche Bank to effect a smooth transition of accounts and services.
To assist with the transition, as well as the ongoing management and growth of the acquired business, Butterfield intends to offer positions to a majority of those Deutsche Bank employees available to transfer along with the acquired business. This includes employees in Mauritius who provide operations and support services to the Cayman and Channel Islands banking and custody businesses.
Butterfield previously announced (in October 2017) that it had reached an agreement to acquire Deutsche Bank’s Global Trust Solutions business with operations in the Cayman Islands, Switzerland, Guernsey, Singapore and Mauritius.
Commenting on the planned acquisitions of the Deutsche Bank businesses, Butterfield’s chairman and CEO Michael Collins said: “Butterfield is focused on building shareholder value through both organic growth and the acquisition of businesses that fit our core banking, wealth management and trust competencies in high quality offshore markets.
"The acquisition of Deutsche Bank’s Global Trust Solutions business announced in October will provide Butterfield with a Singapore trust company. We have long had an interest in establishing operations in Singapore to support the growth of our legacy Trust business in Asia.
"And with this banking transaction, we will gain a presence in Jersey to complement our existing Guernsey-based Channel Islands bank, giving us increased scale and the opportunity to realise operational economies in the region.”
“We look forward to welcoming Deutsche Bank’s clients to Butterfield, along with the employees who are familiar with their accounts, and we are committed to ensuring that their transition to Butterfield is straightforward and seamless.”
Deutsche Bank wealth management global head Fabrizio Campelli said: “We are continuing to simplify our organisation and make our business more efficient for the benefit of our clients. This transaction represents another important milestone in repositioning Wealth Management for growth in our core markets.”
The transaction is expected to close in stages during 2018, subject to all regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
