Deutsche Bank is weeks away from launching its first digital-asset service — crypto custody — and plans to expand that platform into Asian financial centres next year, Reuters reported on 16 October 2026, quoting Gerald Podobnik, co-head of the corporate bank, on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok.
The bank did not name which Asian centres. Do not invent city names for the expansion.
What Podobnik told Reuters
According to Reuters:
- Germany’s biggest lender is weeks away from the launch
- after Germany, it plans to expand the custody platform into Asian financial centres next year
- the push sits inside a corporate-banking plan for 8% compound annual growth by 2028
- Podobnik cited “hundreds of billions of dollars held in stablecoins” as evidence of new pools of value
He said: “I believe that, as the financial system, we will need to offer tokenised or blockchain solutions to our clients as additional services alongside our traditional ones … but not necessarily to replace what we are doing today.”
Phased product path (Reuters)
Reuters said the phased rollout will initially support custody of major cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether, then expand to services that help clients move money into and out of mainstream stablecoins. Deutsche Bank also plans tokenised deposits and help for clients issuing blockchain-based securities such as digital bonds, Podobnik said.
Background from the bank’s September release
Those interview comments sit on top of Deutsche Bank’s own 16 September 2026 release, which said the bank was set to launch a digital-asset custody solution this year, “subject to the completion of the applicable regulatory timeline,” for institutional and corporate clients in Europe. The service is not intended for retail clients.
At launch, the September release said, Deutsche Bank would support a selected range including Bitcoin and Ether, plus selected stablecoins or e-money tokens including USDC, EURC and EURAU. The bank would manage wallets and private keys on clients’ behalf. Podobnik’s September quote matched today’s theme: “Digital assets are not a replacement for the traditional financial system but an important complement to it.”
The September note also stressed that timing, geography, supported assets and scope may change with regulatory requirements, internal approvals, market developments or client demand — and that crypto-assets are not covered by a deposit-guarantee scheme comparable to eligible bank deposits.
What this post leaves out
Secondary outlets have repeated claims about a specific supervisory approval date or an interim EU register entry. Those were not checked against the primary register for this draft, so TSN does not state that any named regulator cleared the product on a given weekday. Stick to Reuters’ “weeks away” interview and the bank’s own “this year / subject to regulatory timeline” language.
How custody fits the corporate-bank growth target
Podobnik tied the digital-asset push to Deutsche Bank’s aim of 8% compound annual growth in corporate banking by 2028, Reuters said. Custody alone will not deliver that number, but the bank is treating wallet-and-key services, stablecoin rails and later tokenised deposits and bonds as a client stack for corporates and institutions that already clear, hold and issue through Deutsche Bank. The September release listed target clients as corporates, asset managers, hedge funds, custodians, brokers and sovereign institutions — onboarded only where due diligence and risk appetite allow.
Context from earlier TSN coverage
Large banks are productising digital-asset rails for institutions rather than retail speculation. TSN covered Standard Chartered holding Ripple’s RLUSD and planning further custody links, Standard Chartered bitcoin and ether trading for affluent UAE clients, a wider tokenised-assets institutional roundup, and the EBA naming USDC the first significant e-money token under MiCA. Deutsche Bank’s item is a German corporate-bank custody launch timeline plus an unnamed Asia expansion next year.
Why it matters
If custody goes live on the timeline Podobnik described, a G-SIB corporate bank would be offering key management for bitcoin, ether and selected stablecoins to European institutions first — then trying to extend that platform in Asia without yet saying where. The strategic line is complement, not replacement: tokenised rails beside traditional deposits and securities services.
What’s still unknown
- Exact German go-live date (only “weeks away” / “this year”)
- Which Asian financial centres come first next year
- When stablecoin on/off-ramps, tokenised deposits and digital-bond issuance leave the roadmap
What to watch
Watch Deutsche Bank for a go-live client announcement in Germany, and any later naming of Asian jurisdictions — not guessed city lists.
What this means
- Weeks away from first digital-asset service: crypto custody in Germany (Reuters / Podobnik).
- Asia expansion next year planned — centres not named.
- Institutional/corporate Europe focus in the bank’s September plan; not retail.
Sources
- Reuters via MarketScreener, “Deutsche Bank prepares crypto custody launch, targets Asia growth”, 16 October 2026 (Selena Li, Bangkok)
- Deutsche Bank, “Deutsche Bank to launch digital asset custody solution for institutional and corporate clients”, 16 September 2026
Related stories
- Standard Chartered Now Holds Ripple’s RLUSD Stablecoin for Institutions, and Plans Dubai and LMAX Links
- Standard Chartered Lets Affluent UAE Clients Trade Bitcoin and Ether From Their Bank Accounts
- Tokenised Assets Go Institutional: Shares, Custody, Home Loans and a €100m Fund Unit
- EU Banking Regulator Names USDC the First Significant E-Money Token Under MiCA
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