Deutsche Bank pulls out of PH stock brokerage venture

German financial services giant Deutsche Bank has sold its interest in Philippine stock brokerage platform Deutsche Regis Partners Inc. in line with its global restructuring that included a strategy to exit the equities business.

Deutsche Bank completed the sale of its 49-percent stake in Deutsche Regis to the local management team led by chair and president Emmanuel Bautista on Jan. 7, based on an advisory sent by the brokerage house to clients, a copy of which was seen by the Inquirer.

This means that the brokerage house is now 100-percent owned by the local management team.

A memorandum from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) dated Jan. 8 announced the change in the firm’s corporate name to Regis Partners Inc., dropping “Deutsche” in its name.The management team of Regis Partners assured its clients in the Philippines that “it’s business as usual.”

In its advisory, Regis Partners also said it was “in discussions with potential partner/s” and was hoping “to be able to share some news soon.”

For its part, the Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the amendment in the company’s articles of incorporation and by-laws, which included the change in the corporate name, the PSE memo said.

This is the second time that the stock brokerage house has seen a management buyout of Deutsche Bank’s shares.

Deutsche Regis had been one of the top brokerage houses in the local market in the last 10 years. In 2019, Deutsche Regis was the 10th largest stock brokerage house in the PSE in terms of trading volume, accounting for P161.29 billion worth of trades. This translated to a market share of 4.55 percent. This brokerage house has received numerous awards for best equity house and best research house from institutions such as the Fund Managers Association of the Philippines. It has also been a recipient of the Philippine Stock Exchange Bell Award for Good Governance. In July 2019, Deutsche Bank announced a series of measures to restructure the bank’s operations in order to improve long-term profitability and returns to shareholders. These measures include the exit of global equities and a significant reduction in corporate and investment banking risk-weighted assets.

Around 18,000 jobs cuts are expected at its global organization by 2022.

Deutsche Bank will exit its equities sales and trading business, while retaining a focused equity capital markets operation. In addition, the bank had planned to resize its fixed income operations and accelerate the wind-down of its existing nonstrategic portfolio.

In the Philippines, Deutsche Bank has operated as a fully licensed commercial bank since 1995, when banking regulators liberalized foreign banking regulations. However, it has set up shop since 1977 as an offshore banking unit.

The group also operates a knowledge process outsourcing hub in the country.