Kotak Mahindra Bank and Federal Bank are reportedly battling to take over Deutsche Bank’s retail and wealth businesses in India, as the German lender pushes to exit the segment in its only non-European market, The Economic Times has reported.
The sale—Deutsche’s second such attempt in eight years—includes personal loans, mortgages, and wealth-management assets under management estimated at ₹25,000 crore. The bank’s Indian retail unit earned ₹2,455 crore in revenue in FY2025, a 4% rise from the previous year.
It held ₹25,038 crore in retail assets as of March 2025.
Both banks have reportedly evaluated the portfolio and are now negotiating terms. “The negotiations are ongoing but we need to look at valuations,” the report said, citing a source. “This gives them a bite of Deutsche Bank’s wealth management, which complements their ambitions in this space.”
Deutsche Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Federal Bank have not commented on the report yet.
The move is part of Deutsche CEO Christian Sewing’s wider restructuring plan to boost profitability. He has set a revenue target of €37 billion by 2028—up from around €32 billion in 2025—and aims to lift return on tangible equity to over 13%. India remains the only market outside Europe where the bank still runs a retail franchise.
If successful, the deal could result in the closure of Deutsche’s 17 Indian branches. The exit mirrors similar moves by other foreign banks; in 2022, Citibank sold its Indian retail business to Axis Bank. Deutsche offloaded its credit card portfolio to IndusInd in 2011.
Kotak Mahindra’s shares traded at ₹2,105.90 on November 19, near its 52-week high of ₹2,301.90, and the bank boasts a market cap over ₹4.17 lakh crore. Federal Bank, trading around ₹247, hit an all-time high and is up 18% year-on-year.
