Deutsche Bank was founded in Berlin in 1870 to promote trade between Germany and overseas markets. Its original purpose was to provide German businesses with banking services for international commerce, reducing their dependence on foreign financial institutions.
The bank helped finance railways, industry, and international infrastructure as Germany industrialized. It later became a universal bank, offering commercial banking, investment banking, asset management, and related financial services.
The word Deutsche means “German,” so the name is sometimes confused with other German institutions such as the Deutsche Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank. Deutsche Bank is a commercial financial institution, whereas the Bundesbank was established in 1957 as the successor to the Bank deutscher Länder.