Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. has entered into an agreement to purchase Deutsche Bank AG’s India-based retail banking, affluent private banking and wealth management operations. The transaction moves a defined portfolio of retail and private banking assets, deposits and client relationships into Kotak’s franchise.
The business being acquired comprises approximately INR 29,000 crore in loans, INR 16,000 crore in deposits and about INR 10,500 crore of assets under management. The client base for the unit totals roughly 150,000 customers and the team serving them consists of about 1,000 employees.
Commenting on the deal, Ashok Vaswani, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Kotak Mahindra Bank, said: "This transaction aligns well with our focus on the affluent and SME segments. It is a strong strategic fit and makes sound commercial sense. It also brings a high-quality customer franchise and experienced teams and adds incremental scale and adjacency opportunities."
From Deutsche Bank’s perspective, Kaushik Shaparia, CEO of Deutsche Bank Group India and Emerging Asia, described the agreement as part of a portfolio-sharpening effort: "This transaction marks an important step in sharpening Deutsche Bank’s portfolio and focusing on areas where we have scale, strength, and the ability to deliver sustained returns."
The move is consistent with Kotak’s inorganic growth approach of selectively pursuing transactions that bolster its core franchise. For Deutsche Bank, the sale is aligned with its stated Global Hausbank strategy, which emphasizes simplifying the business mix and concentrating on areas of competitive advantage.
As part of the arrangement, approximately 1,000 Deutsche Bank employees based in India are expected to transition to Kotak. Both organisations have indicated they will collaborate to maintain service continuity for customers during the handover and after the transaction closes.
The parties expect the deal to close by September 2027, subject to approvals from the Competition Commission of India and other customary closing conditions. At the point of closing, the transaction is anticipated to be return-on-equity accretive for Kotak Mahindra Bank and CET1 accretive for Deutsche Bank.
No further financial terms beyond the asset, deposit and AUM totals have been disclosed in the agreement, and the timeline to completion depends on regulatory clearances and standard conditions precedent to closing.