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Deutsche Bank Selects GFT as Transformation Partner for Core Banking Modernization
GFT brings extensive experience from complex transformation and integration projects to the modernization of Deutsche Bank’s retail banking core banking technology in Germany
Stuttgart, August 27, 2026 – Deutsche Bank has selected GFT Technologies as its transformation and systems integration partner for the implementation of a new core banking platform in its private client banking division. Through this transformation, the bank aims to simplify its technology landscape, strengthen its operational resilience, and create a more flexible and scalable foundation for greater efficiency, innovation, and long-term growth.
The project represents a major milestone in the ongoing transformation of Deutsche Bank’s technology landscape. It focuses on one of the central technological foundations of the banking business: the core banking systems for banking and credit products in retail banking and wealth management in Germany.
Deutsche Bank has selected Vault Core from Thought Machine as its new core banking platform. As a global delivery partner of Thought Machine, GFT is supporting Deutsche Bank with the transformation and system integration required to roll out the new platform.
GFT combines in-depth banking expertise with comprehensive cloud engineering capabilities and AI-powered solutions to accelerate implementation. In this way, GFT is helping Deutsche Bank implement this complex transformation program more quickly, efficiently, and predictably within a highly regulated environment. An integrated team across onshore, nearshore, and offshore locations combines local expertise with GFT’s global delivery capabilities.
Yiping Li, Chief Operating Officer of Deutsche Bank’s Private Client Bank, said: “With the selection of our future core banking platform, we are now putting our strategy into action. Modernizing our core banking infrastructure will help us simplify our technology landscape, reduce complexity, and create a more scalable foundation for future growth. Ultimately, this transformation is about improving the experience for our clients and employees while strengthening the foundation of our business for years to come.”
Christian Rhino, Chief Information Officer of Deutsche Bank’s Private Client Bank, said: “The modernization of our core banking landscape is one of the most significant technological transformations currently underway at the Private Client Bank. Vault Core provides us with a modern, cloud-native foundation that improves resilience, scalability, and flexibility. By separating product logic from the underlying infrastructure, we will be able to develop, adapt, and deploy products more efficiently over time, while gradually reducing our dependence on fragmented legacy systems.”
“Modernizing the core banking system is a fundamental step in any bank’s technological transformation. Together with Deutsche Bank and Thought Machine, we are helping to build a modern, scalable platform that supports innovation, operational efficiency, and future growth. At the same time, this creates the technological foundation for harnessing the potential of AI,” said Christopher Ortiz, Group Executive Board Member and Chief Executive of Global Accounts & Offerings at GFT Technologies.
More than 25 years of successful collaboration
The project builds on more than 25 years of collaboration between Deutsche Bank and GFT. GFT combines its long-standing understanding of the bank’s technology environment with extensive experience from large-scale transformation projects in the core banking sector. Added to this is GFT’s extensive international expertise in implementing Thought Machine and deploying Vault Core in modern, cloud-native banking environments.
Paul Taylor, CEO and founder of Thought Machine, said: “Deutsche Bank is setting a clear example of how major international banks can successfully modernize their core banking infrastructure. By replacing fragmented legacy systems with a modern architecture, it is creating the real-time capabilities needed to streamline operations, increase system reliability, and improve the customer experience at scale. We look forward to this ten-year partnership.”
