Euromoney’s most recent trade finance survey results have upset some bankers following the surprise success of Deutsche Bank. But dig down into the results and the reasons for its resilient performance start to emerge.
The German bank moved from third to second place in Euromoney’s quantitative results globally, while maintaining its position of second place in the survey’s qualitative (customer satisfaction) results. Deutsche came second to HSBC in the quantitative results and to UniCredit in the qualitative results.
Regionally, Deutsche came top in Asia Pacific and Western Europe in the quantitative results and first in North America for customer satisfaction.
Turbulent past
The bank’s lofty position in Euromoney’s trade finance survey comes despite its recent struggles, including weak financial results, regulatory entanglements and cost cutting.
In December 2017, Deutsche was fined $630 million by British and American regulators in connection with a Russian money laundering plan. In 2018, the bank came under further scrutiny over its role as a correspondent bank for disgraced Danske Bank – the details of which are still unfolding.