Specialising in high net-worth individuals, the firm’s mortgage range will be available to consumers who want to borrow £3m or more to buy property in the UK or in nine other countries including France, Italy and Spain.
The new offering will cover mortgages on private residences, high value buy-to-let properties and commercial buildings both in the regulated and unregulated markets, as well as mortgage refinancing and equity release.
Speaking to FTAdviser, Michael Morley, head of Deutsche Bank in the UK, said: "The key thought behind this move is that this is Deutsche revamping its commitment to the UK with this launch.
"We want to build a wealth management business here in the UK and the UK business was punching below its weight because it did not offer regulated mortgages.
"That’s a big gap that we wanted to be able to advise on."
Mr Morley said the new mortgage range would be available through the intermediary market and directly to clients through Deutsche’s in-house advice team.
Asked if there was a ‘niche in the market’ for this kind of product, Mr Morley said the launch of regulated mortgages was more about providing financial advice on "both sides of the balance sheet".
He said: "If you're not able to offer a mortgage or mortgage advice for someone's personal residence then you're missing out on a key component we should be able to offer as a wealth management service.
"But we're not going head to head with high street retail banks. We're looking at a discrete and clear part of the market in prime postal districts."
Mr Morley said Deutsche had no plans to move away from this portion of the mortgage market as it fitted with the bank’s ambitions, was in line with the wider market it covered globally, and was part of the market the management team understood very well.
He added that he was not worried about political uncertainty in the UK as he thought London would retain its place as a global wealth management centre.
He said: "The key question for us is: 'Do we think that London will continue to be a jurisdiction that wealthy global investors favour and is the flow going to continue to come?'.
"Our judgement is that London will retain its place as a wealth management centre and I think we're a long way away from any sustained uncertainty that will damage that position."
Deutsche Bank has made a series of hires in London to build up the bank’s capabilities in mortgage lending, including Saydam Salaheddin, previously at Credit Suisse, who has taken on the role of head of real estate for Europe, and James Lockyer, previously at SG Kleinwort Hambros, who will be reporting to Mr Salaheddin as head of UK regulated mortgages.
New arrivals also include Justin Minien, formerly at Metro, who will support Matthew Spencer, head of intermediaries, in working with mortgage brokers.
Balaji Prasanna, global head of lending & deposits for Deutsche, said: "Our strength in providing lending and liquidity solutions is a key differentiator for our business and I am confident that this decisive step into real-estate lending will give us another significant way to engage with our clients and provide market-leading solutions that few competitors can match."
imogen.tew@ft.com
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