Deutsche Bank has acquired a 4.9% stake in Deposit Solutions Gmbh, a Hamburg-based firm that develops accounting software for the real estate and financial services industry.
Both parties have decided not to share details regarding the volume of the investment.
CEO and founder of Deposit Solutions Tim Sievers, noted:
“With our open banking platform, we are building the infrastructure for the deposits business of the future. The investment of Deutsche Bank is a milestone for us in two respects. Firstly, the expansion of our platform to include other Deutsche Bank businesses in Germany and abroad will help us grow even faster. Secondly, for the first time a client of ours becomes a shareholder of the infrastructure they use.”
Deutsche Bank’s management made the acquisition in order to benefit from the expected growth in Deposit Solutions’ market capitalization. As a multinational financial services company operating in 58 countries, the bank currently operates its “Zinsmarkt” deposit offering, which is based on technology developed by Deposit Solutions.
The Zinsmarkt solution has helped Deutsche Bank’s clients access fixed-term deposit products offered by various other European financial institutions that pay relatively higher interest rates.
Launched in 2017, Zinsmarkt allows Deutsche Bank to substantially increase its revenue from the deposit business. The new solution also gives the bank’s customers an opportunity to gain exposure to alternative investments while being able to access the bank’s own investment products.
Additionally, the Zinsmarkt solution is used by online broker Maxblue clients. Deutsche Bank is now preparing to offer the platform to various other clients within the Deutsche Bank Group.
The institution’s president Karl von Rohr stated:
“We have been investing in our capabilities to also operate as a digital platform for a considerable length of time. In the digital age, the only players who will maintain client contact are those who can offer the best products, even if they are provided by third-party vendors. Deposit Solutions has the right infrastructure to enable this in the important business segment of fixed-income deposits. We are looking forward to growing the business with such a strong and reliable partner.”
Since its launch, Zinsmarkt has been used to transfer approximately two billion euros of deposits. It offers more than 20 fixed-term deposit products with different maturities from three financial institutions.
Nearly 100 other banks from 18 countries currently use the Deposit Solutions to source deposits for their internal balance sheets or provide deposit products to their customers.
Earlier this year, the Deposit Solutions platform was introduced in Switzerland as the first market operating outside the EU. The platform will be available in the US in the coming months.
