Deutsche Bank’s Private Bank has selected Thought Machine’s Vault Core platform for its technology transformation.
The move marks a key step in the lender’s plan to cut 15 core banking systems to two cloud-based platforms by 2028.
Yiping Li, global COO at Deutsche’s private banking arm, said the decision moves Deutsche Bank from planning to execution as it modernises its technology estate.
She said: “With the selection of our future core banking platform, we are now turning strategy into execution.”
Vault Core will become the core banking engine for all banking and lending products in Germany across Deutsche Bank’s Personal Banking and Wealth Management businesses, replacing fragmented legacy systems and supporting faster product development.
Development work is already under way, with testing scheduled before the end of 2026. Existing systems and the new platform will run in parallel during the migration, with products progressively moved from 2027 onwards.
Christian Rhino, chief information officer of Deutsche Bank’s Private Bank, said the project was one of the most significant technology transformations under way within the division. He said Vault Core would provide a cloud-native foundation designed to improve resilience, scalability and flexibility.
The bank has also appointed GFT as its transformation and systems integration partner for the implementation, drawing on the firm’s experience delivering Thought Machine projects globally.
Paul Taylor, chief executive and founder of Thought Machine, said the deal showed how major international banks can modernise core infrastructure while improving operational efficiency and customer experience.
The announcement comes amid an industry-wide push by large banks to replace ageing core systems with cloud-native platforms capable of supporting AI, real-time processing and faster product innovation. Thought Machine said it now serves 20 tier-one banks globally and recently surpassed $100m in annual recurring revenue.
Deutsche Bank plans to invest around €600m in IT, operations and artificial intelligence by the end of 2028, with the programme expected to generate annual run-rate savings of approximately €300m by that year.
