Deutsche Bank to Close About 50 Branches, Expand Video Capacity

Deutsche Bank will close a “mid-double-digit number” of smaller branches in Germany while adding new formats and technologies.

The bank will negotiate the changes in the branch network with the Works Council and will continue to have a nationwide branch network in Germany, Deutsche Bank said in a Wednesday (Sept. 18) press release.

At the same time, Deutsche Bank will increase its capacity to give advice via video and telephone, will further invest in its app and other digitalization, and will add more private banking centers, modern ATMs and community events to its branches, according to the release.

“Deutsche Bank remains the bank for clients looking for high-quality advice,” Dominik Hennen, head of personal banking Germany at Deutsche Bank, said in the release. “Personal advice is and will remain central — whether in the branches or by video and telephone.”

Customers are increasingly seeking advice via video and telephone because of the convenience and extended hours that are offered through this method, according to the release. Following successful tests, Deutsche Bank plans to offer advice in this way to wealthier clients in the private banking segment nationwide.

The bank has also found that customers expect “a modern and fully digitized offering,” together with the ability to get personal advice via the channel they choose, per the release. So, in 2025, Deutsche Bank will upgrade its app and add more digital services.

“By completing more and more simple banking transactions digitally, we can concentrate fully on advising our customers through personal contact,” Hennen said in the release.

While optimizing its branch network, Deutsche Bank will also increasingly focus on new formats like its private banking centers that cater to wealthier clients, according to the release. At the locations already offering this format, the experience has been “very positive,” the release said.

At its branches, Deutsche Bank will also invest in new ATMs and invite customers to more regular events held in those locations, per the release.

Banks have been fine-tuning their branch networks by shuttering locations in some markets and building new outposts in others, PYMNTS reported in May. At the same time, there’s a greater opportunity to use mobile channels for banking.

Customer service remains a critical factor in retaining account holders. Twenty-one percent of retail banking customers who have closed accounts said they did so because of poor customer service, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence and NCR Voyix collaboration, “Local Roots: How Community FIs Can Win the Digital-First Generation.”