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After more than a year of searching for a buyer, Deutsche Bank has finally found one. Kotak Mahindra Bank is buying its India retail and wealth business for ₹282 crore.
What’s the deal: Kotak will acquire Deutsche Bank's retail banking, affluent private banking and wealth management business in India through an all-cash deal.
The acquisition will bring ₹29,000 crore of loans, ₹16,000 crore of deposits, ₹10,500 crore of assets under management (AUM), around 1.5 lakh customers and nearly 1,000 employees into Kotak's fold.
The why: for Kotak, this is all about getting bigger without building everything from scratch. The acquisition strengthens its presence in the affluent customer segment and Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SMEs) while instantly adding a large customer base, deposits and investment assets.
"This transaction aligns well with our focus on the affluent and SME segments. It is a strong strategic fit and makes sound commercial sense," said Ashok Vaswani, MD & CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Why is Deutsche selling: this has been coming for a while. Deutsche Bank has been trying to streamline its global business and focus on areas where it is strongest, mainly corporate and investment banking. Selling its consumer business in India fits that strategy.
"This transaction marks an important step in sharpening Deutsche Bank's portfolio and focusing on areas where we have scale, strength and the ability to deliver sustained returns," said Kaushik Shaparia, CEO of Deutsche Bank Group India.
The timeline: this isn't the first time Deutsche has tried to exit this business. Back in 2018, it explored selling the business to IndusInd Bank, but the deal never materialised. Fresh discussions with Kotak picked up in early 2025, eventually leading to this agreement after months of negotiations.
Zoom out: Indian banks have increasingly been taking over the local businesses of global lenders.
Axis Bank acquired Citibank India's consumer business for ₹11,603 crore in 2023, adding around 2.5 million credit card customers. Earlier, DBS Bank India took over the troubled Lakshmi Vilas Bank in 2020 under an RBI-led rescue.
