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Postbank branch in Frankfurt am Main
Photo: Schöning / IMAGO
According to a media report, the customer chaos at Postbank has consequences for the parent company Deutsche Bank. The financial regulator Bafin wants to send a special representative to monitor the bank's progress in resolving its customer service problems, reports the "Handelsblatt", citing several people familiar with the facts.
The special watchdog should also check whether the bank is adhering to the ambitious schedule to which it committed itself to Bafin in September. A formal decision on the planned orders and measures has not yet been made by Bafin. However, it is considered very unlikely that she will do without it, according to the paper. A spokesman for Deutsche Bank declined to comment on the report.
Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing had admitted mistakes in Postbank's IT conversion. "We have not lived up to our responsibility here," Sewing said at a recent banking conference in Frankfurt. The customers were very disappointed. Deutsche Bank must now work all the harder to quickly fix the problems and regain trust. In recent weeks, however, the situation has improved significantly, Sewing said.
Not just an IT migration problem
There are considerable problems with the migration of Postbank's IT to Deutsche Bank's systems, which was actually declared complete in July. Customers were temporarily unable to access their accounts, and customer service was barely available.
The many complaints called consumer advocates and the Bafin on the scene. Bafin President Mark Branson had recently insisted on a quick fix of the IT problems. It is a unique situation how many complaints there are about a single institute. This is no longer just an IT migration problem, but there are other profound disruptions in customer service.
The reprimand of the Bafin at the beginning of September was already perceived by many observers as unusually sharp. A separate special envoy for the bank goes much further.
mamk/Reuters