Deutsche Bank Hosts European Defence Conference in London

Deutsche Bank yesterday brought together senior leaders from the aerospace and defence industries, institutional investors, and military experts to discuss how Europe’s defence landscape is evolving.

Dr Nils Schmid, State Secretary, German Ministry of Defence, gave the opening remarks at the conference which took place at the bank’s UK headquarters at 21 Moorfields in London.

Over 250 people took part in the event which saw wide-ranging discussions around topics including defence technology and the implications for the industry of the recent NATO Summit.

Henrik Johnsson, Global Co-Head of Capital Markets, Deutsche Bank said: “Coming the week after the NATO Summit committing member states to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP, this conference took place at a crucial moment. Across the region, it is clear a sea change is taking place in the way countries approach defence, and that came through clearly in our discussions. Along with giving both private and public companies a chance to meet with investors, the conference also focused on important topics such as the capabilities that Europe needs for the future and how they can be delivered. We had a very good turnout and the strong interest from investors was tangible.”

Attendees included the CEOs of Auterion, CR Group, Helsing, Qinetiq, Seraphim Investment Trust and Tekever, as well as General Juergen-Joachim von Sandrart, the former Commander of NATO Multinational Corps North East, and Giovanni Soccodato, former Chief Strategic Equity Officer at Leonardo.

Deutsche Bank is already a significant provider of a wide range of banking products and services to the defence sector. It is committed to deepening this support to the sector, and established a bank-wide cross-product defence and infrastructure working group in March to facilitate this.

In June 2025, Deutsche Bank was the first firm to sign a deal with the European Investment Bank under the EIB’s expanded defence financing programme.