Rob Rankin

Deutsche Bank's Rankin joins Packer's empire

Deutsche Bank’s Rob Rankin is leaving the bank in January to become CEO of James Packer's Consolidated Press Holdings.

Deutsche Bank said senior executive Robert Rankin will leave the bank in January to become chief executive of James Packer's private investment vehicle Consolidated Press Holdings.

Australian businessman and multi-billionaire Packer will also nominate Rankin, 51, as co-chairman of his Crown Limited and as a director of Macau-based Melco Crown Entertainment, which both count Consolidated Press as a shareholder.

Deutsche Bank said it has not named a successor to Rankin yet as co-head of corporate banking and securities and head of corporate finance. London-based Rankin will move back to Asia. 

In the first nine months of 2014, Deutsche Bank ranked top five globally for corporate finance products with a market share of 5.5% according to data provider Dealogic, up from 5% in 2011. 


Jürgen Fitschen and Anshu Jain, co-chief executives of Deutsche Bank, said in a statement that they “look forward to working with him as a client”.

Rankin joined Deutsche Bank in 2009 as chief executive, Asia Pacific ex-Japan.

His promotion to his current global role in June 2012 was widely seen as a vindication of his performance in the region.

When Rankin was appointed a member of the bank’s group executive committee from January 1 2011 he was the first CEO from Asia to get a seat on the committee, illustrating the growing influence of this region on the bank’s overall business.

Rankin’s appointment to the group executive committee came just 18 months after he joined Deutsche Bank from UBS in June 2009.

Rob Rankin

Under Rankin’s leadership in Asia, Deutsche Bank was a joint global coordinator on AIA Group’s $20.5 billion IPO and a joint bookrunner on Agricultural Bank of China’s $22.1 billion dual-listing. And below those two jumbo trades it was also involved in landmark transactions in other markets such as Petronas Chemicals (the largest ever IPO in Malaysia), Coal India (the largest ever IPO in India) and Cebu Air (the largest ever IPO in the Philippines in US dollar terms).

Rankin recognised early the opportunity of winning business from private sector companies in China and a few months back hired renowned deal maker Henry Cai from UBS as head of the corporate and investment bank (CIB) in China, and chairman of corporate finance for Asia. Deutsche Bank was earlier this year one of six banks named bookrunners on the world's biggest ever IPO: Alibaba's listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

Initially an M&A lawyer, Rankin joined UBS in Australia in 1990 and moved to Hong Kong in 2000 to head up the investment banking team focused on telecoms, media and technology. He became co-head of Asia investment banking in 2003 and sole head of the same division in 2004 when his fellow co-head Peter Burnett moved on. In January 2009, his investment banking coverage widened from head of Asia to head of Asia-Pacific as Australia was also included under his leadership.

Rankin replaced Colin Grassie as Asia-Pacific CEO at Deutsche Bank. Grassie returned to Europe in June 2009 to become CEO for the UK.

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