Deutsche Bank to open 400 branches in retail drive

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank on Thursday fleshed out investment plans to grow retail banking in Europe, saying it would open 400 new branches and create 2,500 client advisory jobs by 2012.

Germany's biggest bank said it would invest selectively in its European core markets and expand its branch network in Germany, Italy and Poland, opening 150 branches in Germany alone in the next four years.

"I am convinced that when the financial crisis has passed, however long that takes, there still will be retail customers needing advice," Deutsche's retail banking head Rainer Neske told a banking conference.

Neske said his retail division aims to attract around four million new customers, bringing the total to 18 million by 2012.

It would also build up a European consumer banking franchise as well as continuing its growth strategy in Asia, he said.

Global lenders are rediscovering an appreciation for the boring but stable revenues to be had in retail banking after their once-lucrative investment banking operations ran aground in the credit market storm.

Deutsche Bank has written more than 7 billion euros off the value of its investments as a result of the crisis, and analysts fear investment banks will again unveil painful subprime-related writedowns in the coming weeks.

Deutsche earned around a fifth of its revenues from retail banking in 2007. It reports third-quarter earnings on October 30.

Chief Executive Josef Ackermann sketched out the retail banking drive on Wednesday, saying the division aimed to achieve pretax profit of around 2 billion euros and net revenues of more than 8 billion euros by 2012, roughly double their 2007 level, excluding effects from any acquisitions.