India's Kotak Mahindra Bank to acquire Deutsche Bank's India retail and wealth business for Rs 282 crore

Kotak Mahindra Bank has agreed to acquire Deutsche Bank's India retail banking, affluent private banking and wealth management business for Rs 282 crore, around USD 30 million. The deal, disclosed on Tuesday, is subject to regulatory approvals including from the Competition Commission of India, and is expected to close by September 2027.

Once completed, the transaction would add Deutsche Bank's Indian retail and wealth franchise, including its affluent private banking clientele, to Kotak Mahindra Bank. Deutsche Bank said the sale aligns with its Global Hausbank strategy of simplifying the business and focusing on competitive strengths.

AFFLUENT AND WEALTH CLIENTS AT THE CORE

Kotak managing director and chief executive Ashok Vaswani said the transaction "aligns well with our focus on the affluent and SME segments. It is a strong strategic fit and makes sound commercial sense."

The business being acquired has loans of about Rs 29,000 crore, deposits of about Rs 16,000 crore and assets under management of about Rs 10,500 crore. At closing, the deal is expected to be return-on-equity accretive for Kotak and CET1 accretive for Deutsche Bank, the banks said.

REGULATORY CLEARANCES AND TIMELINE

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals including from the Competition Commission of India. It is also subject to other customary conditions precedent.

Closing, including the onboarding of customer relationships, employees and associated products, is expected by September 2027.

Kaushik Shaparia, chief executive of Deutsche Bank Group India and Emerging Asia, said the 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." Deutsche Bank said its Private Bank will continue to focus on global ultra-high-net-worth clients, including non-resident Indians, outside India.

The banks said the acquisition reflects Kotak's inorganic growth strategy of pursuing targeted opportunities that strengthen its core franchise. The business serves around 150,000 customers, and about 1,000 Deutsche Bank India employees are expected to join Kotak on completion.