"We're better positioned than other institutions"

Tiina Lee spoke to the German financial daily Handelsblatt about London’s future role for the financial markets, the impact of Brexit and her career at the bank. She is head of the bank’s business operations in the UK and Ireland.

Here are Lee’s key messages:

• Overall, the bank will transfer fewer jobs away from London due to Brexit than originally expected: the number is likely to be no more than a few hundred by the end of March 2019. “We are better positioned than many other institutions, because we already have a substantial presence in the EU.”
• The bank is well equipped for Brexit. Lee spends about 25 percent of her working hours on preparations for this event. Planning efforts in the bank are being stepped up the closer the March 29, 2019 deadline approaches.
• Post-Brexit, London will also remain a very important financial location. The planned move to the new regional head office in a few years sends an important signal of Deutsche Bank’s commitment to London. It is currently under construction and is just around the corner from Winchester House, the building that has been Deutsche Bank’s London head office for many years.
• “The UK and Ireland remain a key region for Deutsche Bank”.

Lee herself has close ties with the London financial district. “I’ve spent almost my entire career here,” she said. She has been with Deutsche Bank for more than 20 years, having previously worked for Lehman Brothers.