One of the Europe’s largest banking networks will be formed via a newly announced partnership between Deutsche Bank and Munich-based FinTech QPLIX.
The deal, which will see Deutsche take an 18 percent stake in the wealth management software firm, gives the bank access to QPLIX’s digital platform to manage and control large assets. The software will also serve as the basis for Deutsche Private Port, the digital investment office of Deutsche Bank Wealth Management.
In addition, QPLIX clients—family offices, wealth managers, asset managers, trusts, funds and administrators—will gain access to around 100 data interfaces.
Founded in 2012, QPLIX has €50 billion of assets under management on its platform. The remaining shares of the company will stay with its founders Kai Linde, Mathias Lindermeir and Philipp Pötzl.
“We are pleased that in Deutsche Bank our product has won over another prestigious institution,” says Linde, co-founder and managing director of QPLIX GmbH. “With this cooperation, we are combining the innovative power and digital expertise of QPLIX with Deutsche Bank’s large client base and many years of experience in serving ultra-high net-worth clients.”
Deutsche has been in transformation mode since it became the target of investigations in both the U.S. and Germany over money laundering issues and AML controls. In January it posted a full-year net loss of $5.8 billion. And last July, the company revealed plans that included leaving its global equities sales and trading operations, scaling back its investment banking division and slashing18,000 jobs in an effort to cut down its adjusted cost base by 20 percent by 2022.
The bank has also been working to expand its involvement in FinTech. Last year it acquired a 4.9 percent stake in the German-based FinTech Deposit Solutions, which allows more than 100 banks across 18 countries to offer their customers products from third-party banks.
Deutsche also launched a startup factory called Breaking Wave, which is designed to attract new hires that would typically choose to work for up-and-coming FinTechs or tech giants such as Microsoft, Apple, Google or Facebook over a financial institution. The factory will boast the benefits of a FinTech, while being backed by Deutsche.
