The co-head of corporate banking and securities at Deutsche Bank will leave the bank in January – the third announcement of a change within the German bank's top ranks in the last fortnight.
Deutsche Bank announced the departure of Rob Rankin, who has been in his current role since June 2012, in a statement this afternoon. He had joined the bank in 2009 from UBS as chief executive, Asia Pacific (ex-Japan). His impending departure was first reported by Bloomberg.
Rankin co-leads the investment banking division with Colin Fan, focusing on corporate finance. The bank said that a replacement for Rankin would be named in due course.
Jürgen Fitschen and Anshu Jain, co-chief executives of Deutsche Bank, said in the statement: “We wish Rob well in his new role and look forward to working with him as a client. We thank him for his leadership and excellent results.”
Deutsche Bank finished the first nine months ranked sixth by investment banking fees globally, the top-ranked European bank, and first in Europe, ahead of long-time rival JP Morgan.
Rankin said in the statement: "I leave the bank with its biggest ever global market share and a leading franchise in corporate finance. I look forward to working with the bank as a client in the future.”
Rankin and Fan's appointments to co-head corporate banking and securities in 2012 came against a tough backdrop, with banks facing a cocktail of volatile markets, an uncertain macroeconomic environment and a slew of tougher regulatory and capital rules making it paramount that they become as efficient as possible.
Speaking to Financial News in summer last year, Rankin reflected on his and Fan’s first year in charge of the investment bank, describing the period as “the most extraordinary 12 months of my career”.
A group-wide strategic review brought cost cuts, particularly at the investment bank, with Fan and Rankin admitting their new unit would have to “go on a diet”.
All change at Deutsche Bank
News of Rankin's impending departure comes a matter of weeks after the bank announced that Stefan Krause, its long-time finance chief, would take a new role in the bank focusing on strategy. Marcus Schenck, a partner at Goldman Sachs, was announced as his successor starting May next year.
Zar Amrolia, one of the chief architects of Deutsche Bank’s dominant market position in foreign exchange, stepped down from his role as co-head of fixed income and currencies earlier this week meanwhile.
Those moves mean that more than a third of the individuals named to the bank's corporate banking and securities executive committee in June 2012 have either left or taken on new roles.
Henrik Aslaksen, who was head of corporate finance in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in addition to his role as head of M&A, stepped down from the former role earlier this year, with Karl-Georg Altenburg and Miles Millard named to replace him.
Ivor Dunbar, who had been head of client franchise development at the time, left last year. Wayne Felson, head of rates and credit trading, moved into a new role in February.
Richard Herman, head of the institutional client group, was named as his replacement, co-heading fixed income and currencies with Amrolia. When Amrolia stepped down, he became sole head.
Jeff Mayer, head of corporate banking and securities in North America, left earlier this year.
-- Additional reporting by Vivek Ahuja
