Dive Brief:
- Deutsche Bank is inviting bids from Amazon, Google and Microsoft to modernize its technology networks, sources told Reuters. The move is part of a $14.2 billion tech investment planned through 2022.
- Tech firms sent teams to Frankfurt, Germany, last week, launching a three-month pitching and bidding process, according to the report. Microsoft and Google declined to comment to Reuters. Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.
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The bank's supervisory board signed off on a broad plan to overhaul the bank's technology systems, and four executives, including CEO Christian Sewing, highlighted the development in an October memo to employees. "To succeed, we need to fundamentally shift how we build technology and move to a new way of working," they wrote, according to Reuters.
Dive Insight:
Tech modernization is just one part of a massive restructuring, announced in July, in which the German stalwart was set to shed 18,000 jobs, or 20% of its workforce. The bank said it planned to significantly downsize its investment banking arm and spin off $83 billion in assets it no longer wants.
The bank hired a chief technology officer, Bernd Leukert, to build a unit meant to oversee tech security, data and innovation. The bidding process stems from his talks this year with tech execs in the U.S. and Davos, Switzerland.
The initiative aims to streamline and update outdated technology. Some retail customers still get their balances entered into savings books by printers for which spare parts are no longer manufactured. Deutsche's management has complained about "lousy" and complex IT systems, Finextra reported.
Deutsche's potential tech partners have worked to make inroads in the banking space. Amazon holds cloud contracts with Capital One, BBVA and Goldman Sachs. Banking Dive reported last week that it was in talks with the latter to roll out small-business loans.
IBM, another large cloud provider, has a different approach planned with financial services companies. It is partnering with Bank of America to launch a bank-focused public cloud, which adheres to the strict compliance needs of financial services sector.