Making cross-border retail finance a reality case study: Deutsche Bank PBC S.A. in Poland

Until recently, the retail banking industry was widely recognised as being predominantly a local activity. Now retail banking is increasingly affected by globalisation. Cross-border activity offers opportunities for financial institutions to boost their sales through unified marketing and client acquisition techniques. Deutsche Bank quickly recognised the advantages of a regional versus a local approach to its retail activities in Europe. This paper outlines and discusses Deutsche Bank's cross-border activity in the Polish market. Poland, which joined the European Union in May 2004, is an interesting area of study. The case study presents the Deutsche Bank approach to retail banking in Poland. The case concludes that it is not the behaviour of the customer which is the most important obstacle to cross-border retail banking, but rather the legislative environment of the individual countries. With the harmonisation of European policies in this respect, these hurdles should be eliminated gradually.