Deutsche Bank Americas CEO announces return of 5,000 employees to New York City

Deutsche Bank AG plans to return 5,000 workers to New York City over the next six months.

Many of the returning staff will still have the option of more flexible working arrangements, Christiana Riley, chief executive officer of Deutsche Bank Americas, said in an interview from the Frankfurt-based company’s new U.S. headquarters Tuesday.

“The demise of New York is vastly overstated,” Riley said. “We’re thrilled to see the ecosystem in New York coming back to life.”

Deutsche Bank said in a report to clients earlier this month that workers in many industries are feeling isolated from their colleagues, and could be developing health problems related to inadequate remote-work setups. The firm now expects offices in major financial hubs such as London and New York City to refill quickly, pointing to increased ridership on public transit systems in both cities as one early sign that workers are getting back to their desks.

In the wide-randing interview, Riley said Deutsche Bank sees opportunities for growth following a restructuring of its core businesses. The bank now plans to expand organically in the U.S., not through acquisitions, a strategy Riley partly attributed to high valuations. After a period of job cuts, downsizing its investment-banking business and revamping management, the firm expects to be able to expand its market share in the U.S., she said.

“We made difficult decisions around shedding businesses that weren’t successful, weren’t profitable for us in this market,” Riley said. “We’ve got a spectrum of businesses across the fixed-income and credit-origination space” that will bring value to our clients.

Riley also said Deutsche Bank’s market share of the ESG debt issuance market has doubled since 2019.