Zurich Italy acquires Deutsche Bank Financial Advisors network
Deutsche Bank and Zurich Italy have reached an agreement where Zurich will acquire the Financial Advisors network of the Deutsche Bank group. The terms of the agreement provide for the transfer of a business unit consisting of 1,085 Financial Advisors, 97 employees, and €16.5 billion of assets under management (numbers as of March 31, 2021).
The acquisition allows Zurich to strengthen its presence in the Italian market by further developing its distribution channels, focusing on a reality of excellence in the field of financial and insurance consultancy, backed by over thirty years of history in the Italian market and characterized in recent years by strong growth.
The agreement allows Deutsche Bank to reposition its business in Italy, focusing investments to become a reference bank for entrepreneurs and their families, a premium bank for affluent customers, and to enhance the already strong presence in the consumer credit sector.
“We are delighted to announce the acquisition of the network of Financial Advisors of the Deutsche Bank group in Italy. A further strengthening of our presence on the Italian market thanks to a network that excels in terms of experience and presence on the territory. Valuable consulting is the key to the success of our business: the consolidated partnership with Deutsche Bank, with which we have been working for many years in Italy and globally, has allowed us to appreciate the value and expertise of its financial advisors, a point of reference in the asset management sector. This acquisition is for us a very significant step forward in a path of growth and continuous innovation and evolution of the business model towards multi-channel. Deutsche Bank’s network of Financial Advisors will in fact work in synergy with the already consolidated and strong network of Zurich agents to offer clients the fullest possible range of contact channels and the best solutions for financial and insurance planning. This is a very important project for Zurich, which we intend to develop over the next few years with further investments to support it.” – Alessandro Castellano, CEO of Zurich Italy.
“We are delighted with the agreement reached with Zurich, a strategic operation that will help strengthen the growth path of the network of financial advisors and the partnership between the two groups, which has also been active for some time in Germany. With this important step, we give the off to a path of transformation of our business in Italy, which we will continue in the coming months with the desire to continue investing to grow on several fronts. Deutsche Bank remains firmly present in the country and here in the future we will focus our activities to become a bank reference point for entrepreneurs and their families, also strengthening our coverage of affluent customers and consumer credit. In the last 6 months we have introduced about 40 new wealth management professionals in Italy, equal to 30% more.and we are also investing in business banking skills, leveraging the strength of our brand to develop an innovative offer of specialized services on digital channels, for private customers and businesses.” – Roberto Parazzini, Deutsche Bank’s Chief Country Officer in Italy.
