A reshuffle in Deutsche Bank’s structured trade and export finance (STEF) business has seen the department’s global head Klaus Michalak “relinquish” his position.

It is not clear whether Michalak will stay on within the bank, but a spokesperson for the bank tells GTR: “Klaus Michalak has relinquished his existing role…and is currently in discussions with senior management about his next business steps.”

“In conjunction with the continued evolution of Deutsche Bank’s combined trade finance and corporate cash management business, and with view to further strengthen our regional delivery, the bank has decided to align its STEF business into a regional model.”

The new setup sees Deutsche Bank regional heads running the STEF business, rather than one global position overseeing the direction of the division.

Werner Schmidt is the bank’s regional head for STEF Germany, based in Frankfurt.

Simon Sayer is the London-based regional head for STEF Europe ex.Germany, Middle East and Africa; Paul Gardner is in Singapore and regional head for Asia Pacific; while Stephen Atallah is the Amercias STEF regional head and works from the New York office.

The move comes at a time when a number of banks are rebalancing and redressing their operations in the wake of increasing pressure from generally poor results.

However, until now, transaction banking divisions have shown positive results across the board, with Deutsche Bank itself posting a revenue increase of €33mn, not including exceptionals.

Just last week, GTR was told by Deutsche Bank that “It is our understanding that there are no plans or any intentions at this time to cut back any staff in the trade finance area.”