Deutsche Bank To Split Teams Globally Amid Virus Crisis

As Europe and the US wake up to a world in lockdown and Covid-19 cases and deaths surge, Deutsche Bank will operate globally in split teams on Monday to flatten the curve of the virus, an internal memo read, first viewed by Reuters.

Germany’s largest lender is now implementing social distancing policies, a move to prevent the further spread at its office after several employees were infected last week at its headquarters in Frankfurt and London.

“We too have seen an increasing number of confirmed infections in our operations and central areas in recent days,” the memo read.

The memo also said the bank would keep its branches open across Germany this week. A spokesperson said offices in Italy had been shuttered. 

CEO Christian Sewing told a German newspaper on Sunday that Deutsche Bank has a much more solid financial footing than a decade ago.

“Our balance sheet, I can say here, is more robust than I have ever experienced in my 30 years at Deutsche Bank,” he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Deutsche’s equity has lost more than half its value in the last month. 

We’ve noted in the last several weeks that America’s largest banks have gone in lockdown since cases and deaths surged in the US. Following JPMorgan’s decision to begin its resilience plan in the first week of March, a number of other banks have also started their own contingency plans:

• Citi is sending hundreds of traders and salespeople to its backup site in Rutherford, NJ starting Monday as part of its coronavirus planning, CNBC’s Hugh Son reported in tweet, citing a source. To view the source of this information click here To contact the reporter on this story

• Bank of America is splitting its trading force, sending some employees to its back-up office in Stamford, Connecticut, Business Insider reports, citing an internal memo.

• Morgan Stanley is moving about half of its institutional securities traders to its disaster recovery site in Westchester, New York, Business Insider reported, citing a memo it saw.

• Plans for trading desk came days after non-essential travel outside the U.S. was halted; additional changes may be made

• Additionally, Morgan Stanley is beginning to shift London-based sales and trading staff to Heathrow site as part of its coronavirus contingency plans, Reuters reports, citing sources.