Deutsche Bank’s investment banking franchise in Europe has gathered remarkable momentum over the past year, propelled by a sharp rise in origination and advisory revenues and a consistent gain in wallet share across almost every industry group.
The division’s year-on-year revenue expansion outpaced the market, taking the bank into the top tier of European league tables. Alison Harding-Jones, co-head of the investment bank and global head of origination and advisory, underlines the ambition: “Our goal is to be the leading European investment bank globally and the global Hausbank for our clients. We made good progress on this in 2024/2025 with market share gains across multiple products, and we see many opportunities to build on that.”
A decisive catalyst has been the integration of Numis, acquired in late 2023. Rebranded as Deutsche Numis, the platform now covers more than 300 UK corporates and is fast becoming the preferred broker to the FTSE blue chip community. The enlarged franchise has already won a string of high-profile brokerships with household industrial, consumer and information services groups, validating the strategy of pairing deep local advisory relationships with Deutsche Bank’s global distribution and research.
In debt capital markets, the bank has leveraged its balance sheet strength and structuring expertise to secure a top-three market share in euro-denominated issuance. It finished the review period as the leading bookrunner for sovereign, supranational and agency borrowers across currencies, while maintaining a commanding presence in investment grade financials and corporate hybrids. Recent flagship mandates for Spain, BP, ING and TUI illustrate its ability to deliver size, speed and investor diversification in volatile windows.
The bank’s ability to fuse advice with financing was exemplified by its lead role on Zegona’s acquisition of Vodafone Spain
In foreign exchange, the bank cemented its status among the market’s liquidity leaders, powered by sustained investment in pricing algorithms and a fully integrated prime brokerage offering. The launch of HausFX, an automated workflow solution for mid- to large-sized corporates, speaks to a renewed focus on technology-enabled client service.
Volumes in deliverable forwards and non-deliverable forwards from European clients surged, especially in emerging market pairs, while the bank traded record notional in volatility derivatives. Complementing FX, the rates desk gained share as clients repositioned for shifting European Central Bank policy, and the credit platform climbed into the top cohort on all major electronic venues, buoyed by upgrades to electronic execution and notable hires.
Panos Stergiou, global head of the institutional client group and global co-head of FIC structuring, captures the franchise’s positioning: “Clients want a European FIC partner with global capabilities. Deutsche Bank is the leading fixed-income bank in Europe with global client reach, significant local presence in Asia whilst rapidly building scale in the Americas. We are uniquely set up for clients, at home and abroad.”
Equity capital markets was another area of strength for Deutsche Bank. The firm led regional marquee IPOs, including the UK consumer flotation of Applied Nutrition, and a series of continental debuts in Athens, Frankfurt and Amsterdam. It also orchestrated six of the seven largest accelerated bookbuilds, demonstrating deft risk management and deep investor reach.
Advisory momentum accelerated after strategic senior hires, with double-digit growth in fee income and rising market share across Europe. Deutsche Numis now dominates UK public M&A, while the Frankfurt team retains a commanding position in German deals. The bank’s ability to fuse advice with financing was exemplified by its lead role on Zegona’s acquisition of Vodafone Spain, where it stitched together the equity, leverage and bridge financing under one roof.
Additionally, Deutsche Bank jumped several places in the European loan league tables on the back of high-profile acquisition financings for names such as Autoscout24 and Motel One, and a multibillion revolving credit for Mercedes-Benz. Also, a strategic purchase of a large aircraft-financing portfolio from Nord/LB signalled fresh intent to scale its asset-backed credit franchise.
