History

Deutsche Bank was founded in Germany on January 22, 1870 as a specialist bank for foreign trade in Berlin by the private banker Adelbert Delbruck and the politician Ludwig Bamberger. Its first branches outside Germany were opened in London (1873), Shanghai (1872) and Yokohama (1872). The first directors were Wilhelm Platenius, Georg Siemens and Hermann Wallich. Deutsche Bank acquired the banks Berliner Bank-Verein and Deutsche Union-Bank in 1876 and became then the largest bank in Germany, surpassing the Disconto-Gesellschaft.

Major projects in its first decades included the Northern Pacific Railroad in the United States (1883) and the Baghdad Railway (1888). It also financed bond offerings of the steel concern Krupp (1885) and introduced the chemical company Bayer on the Berlin stock market.

Twentieth century

During the first three decades of the 20th century it expanded quickly and merged with other local German banks, eventually merging with the Disconto-Gesellschaft in 1929.

The history of Deutsche Bank during the Second World War has been well documented by indepedent historians commissioned by the Bank

Following Germany's defeat in the war, Allied authorities ordered Deutsche's breakup into ten regional banks on April 1, 1948. These 10 regional banks were later consolidated into 3 major banks in 1952:

Norddeutsche Bank AG
Süddeutsche Bank AG
Rheinisch-Westfälische Bank AG
In 1957 these three banks merged and other takeovers followed, such as the GDR's state bank with German reunification in 1990; London investment bank Morgan Grenfell in 1989; Bankers Trust in New York, Crédit Lyonnais Belgium in Brussels in 1999 and a Moscow-based investment bank United Financial Group in Russia in 2006.

In 1995 Deutsche Bank began the transformation from a commercial bank to an investment bank and to provide expertise for investment banking products. By 2005 75% of the Bank's revenues came from investment banking and the ROE went from 4% to 25%. Deutsche Bank is a world-class leader on the investment banking market, belonging to the so-called bulge bracket.

September 11 attacks

On September 11, 2001, the Deutsche Bank building, located at 130 Liberty Street in New York City and acquired two years earlier as part of the merger with Bankers Trust, was damaged beyond repair as a result of the 9/11 Terrorist Attack. Large pieces of debris from the Twin Towers hit the Deutsche Bank building, creating a large hole in its center and destroying its main entrance and lobby.

Deutsche Bank sued their insurance carriers to require them to pay out the claims, and in December 2004, Deutsche Bank settled with the insurance carriers and then sold the building to the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corporation.

Deutsche Bank relocated most of its NYC Area units to 60 Wall Street - acquired earlier in 2001 and formerly occupied by J.P. Morgan Chase.