Deutsche Bank to make Dubai hub for Africa operations

Deutsche Bank proposes to make the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) the hub for its African operations, according to its local chief executive officer.

The lender's board has approved the move, Ashok Aram, who heads Deutsche Bank in the Middle East, said on 17 March at the Bloomberg Future Cities Forum in Dubai.

Aram is also taking over responsibility for the Africa business, Bloomberg reported.

International banks are targeting the continent to take advantage of growth rates higher than in many developed economies and the demand for spending on infrastructure.

Dubai's connections with Africa have improved as local airline Emirates has increased the number of cities it flies to in recent times.

Euribor rigging

The UK's Serious Fraud Office has called in former traders at Deutsche Bank for questioning over concerns that a key borrowing benchmark was manipulated.

The SFO is investigating whether Euribor, the euro interbank lending rate, was rigged to benefit individual traders or institutions' positions, the FT reported earlier this month.

The German lender is facing a class-action lawsuit in the US over allegations it manipulated the Euribor. The case is due to be heard in May 2015.

Deutsche Bank's presence in Africa includes South Africa, where it hired former Standard Bank Group COO Peter Wharton-Hood as CEO in 2014.