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Across Europe, investment products have become a decisive battleground for customer ownership, long-term profitability, and primary banking relationships. Digital-first challengers are redefining price expectations and usability standards, raising the bar for scalability and operational efficiency across the industry.

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, the second-largest direct bank in Germany with , has made its securities business a central pillar of its . The bank is elevating the securities account to a second anchor product alongside the current account. It aims to more than and establish brokerage as a core driver of sustainable customer value.

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This ambition goes beyond numerical growth. DKB aims to become the primary financial partner for everyday banking, investing, and long-term wealth creation. Delivering on this vision requires a modern, cost-efficient investment offering across a broad range of asset classes — including innovative formats such as fractional investing — and early positioning for upcoming pension frameworks such as Altersvorsorgedepot and ���ü����ٲ�����-���Գٱ�.

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From growth ambition to infrastructure reality

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To translate strategic ambition into operational reality, DKB required a fundamentally different investment infrastructure that enables:

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• Accelerated innovation: Offering modern use cases such as fractional investing, automated savings plans, and personalised portfolios, with continuous product releases to meet customer needs and market dynamics
• Improved user experience: More intuitive and engaging digital experiences with real-time access, fast processing, and greater transparency
• Scalability and growth: Simplified and automated processes for faster time to market and expansion into new customer segments, and a cloud-native system to support high volumes
• Lower operational cost: Automation to lower middle- and back-office costs and reduce overhead, resulting in cost reduction for DKB and its customers

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The partnership: DKB and ����ý

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As part of its long-term transformation roadmap, DKB selected ����ý in September 2025 as its strategic infrastructure partner for the next phase of brokerage growth. From the end of 2026, all newly opened securities accounts will run on ����ý’s platform; existing accounts will migrate in 2027.

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����ý provides modular investment infrastructure via its Investment API, covering brokerage, custody, and settlement. This allows financial institutions to modernise their investment offering and benefit from accelerated innovation, scalability, operational efficiency, lower costs, improved data architecture, and AI-enabled automation capabilities.

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For DKB, the partnership delivers:

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• Investment infrastructure designed for high transaction volumes and scale
• Automation across brokerage, custody, and operations
• A scalable platform for long-term growth without legacy constraints
• A foundation for competitive pricing and a digital-first user experience
• Continuous product development and readiness for new pension frameworks such as Altersvorsorgedepot and ���ü����ٲ�����-���Գٱ�

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Jonathan Brander, COO at ����ý, said: “DKB’s partnership with ����ý reflects a broader shift across European financial institutions: a modern investment offering is becoming a core growth driver, and API-first infrastructure is key to scaling it efficiently. Together, we’re making investing simpler and more accessible for millions of people.” 

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Competing in the next phase of brokerage

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The European investment market is entering a structural inflection point. While digital-first platforms excel in speed and usability, established banks continue to hold strong customer trust and deep relationships.

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Sustainable success now depends on combining both strengths with modern investment infrastructure.

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For DKB, strengthening the securities account is central to deepening customer relationships and expanding long-term financial engagement. A competitive, technology-driven brokerage offering reinforces the bank’s ambition to integrate investing seamlessly into its broader banking ecosystem.

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“The brokerage market is evolving rapidly. To stay competitive, we must combine the trust and scale of an established bank with the speed and usability of digital-first platforms. Our partnership with ����ý enables us to deliver on this ambition as part of our 2030 strategy”, said Maren Heiß, Head of Retail Banking at DKB.

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Looking ahead

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DKB’s 2030 strategy sets clear growth ambitions for its securities business. Delivering on these ambitions requires investment infrastructure that can scale reliably, support competitive pricing, and enable continuous product innovation.

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����ý provides the technological backbone enabling DKB to scale one of Germany’s most ambitious brokerage growth strategies toward 2030.

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