UPDATE: Deutsche Bank Replaces Barry Bausano

Deutsche Bank has replaced industry legend Barry Bausano.

The global head of prime finance’s replacement comes amid new strategic thinking by the bank. The rethink will see the bank “optimise” the prime finance business, where part of that business may be trimmed down in order to make way for investment in other parts. Presenting the strategic repositioning, co-chief executive officers Jurgen Fitschen and Anshu Jain said on Monday that the bank plans to grow its Global Transaction Banking’s franchise, where it will invest over €1.5 Billion. Details of the bank’s refined strategy and which areas it will trim down will be made public in the near future.

The hedge fund financing unit has been the focus of attention in recent months as Basel III and the leverage ratio put strain on the investment bank’s balance sheet and its ability to finance hedge funds. Deutsche Bank is planning to significantly shrink its investment bank in the face of higher litigation costs and leverage constraints.

Dixit Joshi, the head of Asia Pacific equities, will become the global head of prime finance and the role will move from New York to London.

Bausano will become chairman of hedge funds and assume an advisory role for these clients.

He joined the Deutsche Bank’s prime brokerage team over eight years ago and was part of the industry evolution of prime brokerage, financing and custody into prime services. “Prime brokerage is one of those businesses that is inherently and inextricably entwined with its parent institution and the businesses that surround it,” Bausano told Global Custodian in an interview last year. “Prime finance is a business that provides a lot of direct opportunities to finance and service clients, as well as a lot of opportunities in horizontal and vertical integration in some of the other businesses within the bank.

“When the client base is very hedge fund centric, it’s natural to think about the vertical integration into execution services, advisory services and capital markets activities.”

Bausano’s move follows the departures of Murray Roos, formerly co-head of prime finance, to join Citi as global head of sales for equities and prime finance and Scott Carter, the former New York-based co-head of its North America prime brokerage business.