Deutsche Bank is to add to its estimated 20 to 25 commodities specialists in Asia with the recruitment of new staff to be based in Japan.
The move signals the German bank’s intention to expand in the commodities sector as price rises for oil, nickel and copper coupled with continued low interest rates has lead to increased interest in the territory from investment banks.
Richard Jefferson, the bank’s head of commodities sales in Europe and Asia, told Bloomberg that “we feel now our business is big enough that we need to put a greater number of commodities professionals in Japan, so we are hiring for that purpose. In Japan interest rates are very, very low, so the potential to find positive returns is something that is likely to be attractive for investors.”
Deutsche Bank’s global commodities business is headed by David Silbert, formerly of Merrill Lynch.