Deutsche Bank Says It’s Done Playing Defense – and Sets Its Sights on ‘European Champion’ Status by 2028

With input from Bloomberg and Reuters.

Deutsche Bank is trying to convince investors it’s not just fixed – it’s ready to grow.

Germany’s biggest lender on Monday rolled out a fresh set of financial targets through 2028, signaling what CEO Christian Sewing called a shift “from defence to offence” after years spent stabilizing a bank once written off as Europe’s problem child.

It’s Sewing’s third big strategy plan since he took over in 2018, when Deutsche was mired in losses, scandals, and doubts about its survival. The core message this time: the cleanup phase is largely done, and it’s time to compete head-on with Wall Street and Europe’s biggest banks.

At the heart of the plan are upgraded targets meant to show Deutsche can now deliver returns closer to its peers:

• Return on tangible equity (RoTE):
  The bank is aiming for more than 13% by 2028, up from its current goal of above 10%.
  That would put it roughly in line with France’s BNP Paribas, though still lagging Swiss giant UBS, which is targeting about 18%.
• Revenue:
  Deutsche wants to lift annual revenue to around €37 billion in 2028, from about €32 billion expected in 2025.
• Cost-to-income ratio:
  The bank is targeting a ratio of below 60% by 2028, an improvement on its previous goal of under 65%.
  In simple terms, it wants to spend less of every euro it earns on running the business.

Sewing told investors the long-term ambition is clear:

“Our long-term vision is to be the European champion.”

Analysts at JPMorgan described the strategy update as “a positive event with ambitious targets,” but the market wasn’t exactly cheering — Deutsche’s shares were down about 3% by late afternoon, underperforming other European bank stocks.

Sewing has already done much of the heavy lifting to get Deutsche out of intensive care.

His first major overhaul in 2019 involved shrinking the investment bank, cutting up to 18,000 jobs (though the final number came in lower as business recovered), and pivoting more toward corporate clients.

A second plan in 2022, unveiled just as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent shockwaves through the global economy, set targets through the end of 2024. Higher interest rates ended up helping banks across Europe, and Deutsche is broadly on track to meet those goals, even if it quietly abandoned an earlier, more aggressive cost target in favor of investing for growth.

Still, critics say Deutsche remains heavily reliant on its global investment bank, and that its retail and domestic operations haven’t kept pace. Sewing is now trying to show the bank can grow in a more balanced way.

As part of that push, Deutsche plans to hire more than 60 senior investment bankers, especially in hot sectors like healthcare and technology, where deal-making and strategic advisory work can be lucrative.

At the same time, the bank is doubling down on its wealth management ambitions.

Claudio de Sanctis, head of the private bank, told investors Deutsche wants to bring on as many as 250 new bankers for its wealth arm over the next few years. The focus will be on Germany, Italy, the UK, the Middle East and Asia, all regions where rising wealth and cross-border money flows are driving demand for high-end financial advice.

Deutsche plans to invest roughly €300 million into talent and technology in wealth management over the next three years. De Sanctis said he’s targeting revenue growth above the 5–6% annual pace expected for the broader private banking business, which also includes retail customers.

To sweeten the pitch for investors, Sewing is also promising to hand back more cash.

From next year, Deutsche aims to return about 60% of its profit to shareholders, through a mix of dividends and share buybacks. That’s a clear signal the bank thinks its balance sheet is healthy enough to support both growth spending and investor rewards.

Deutsche’s new plan comes at a time when uncertainty in global finance is still running high.

Bankers and regulators are grappling with:

• Ongoing trade tensions;
• Credit risks linked to high global debt levels;
• The impact of artificial intelligence on business models and jobs;
• A sluggish German economy, which makes domestic banking particularly challenging.

“Banking in Germany remains difficult,” said Hans-Peter Burghof, a banking expert at the University of Hohenheim.

He notes that while Deutsche has become more diversified and less dominated by what he calls a “mercenary-style” investment bank culture, the industry faces tough regulation and intense competition at home.

Investor nerves also haven’t completely gone away. In 2023, Deutsche Bank’s shares plunged about 15% in a single day during a bout of global banking turmoil that saw lenders rescued in the US and Switzerland. The sell-off prompted then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz to step in and publicly declare:

“There’s no reason to worry.”

On paper, Deutsche’s pitch is straightforward:

• It’s profitable again, after years of red ink.
• Its capital position is stronger.
• It believes it can now grow revenue, control costs, and boost returns without another radical restructuring.

The big question is whether investors will buy into the idea that the bank can finally escape its boom-and-bust history and deliver RoTE above 13% in a world where growth is uncertain and regulation is tight.

For now, Sewing is signaling he’s done talking about survival.

“We are going from defence to offence,” he told the market.

Over the next three years, Deutsche will have to prove that’s more than just a good line for an investor slide deck.