DEUTSCHE Bank AG, Germany's biggest bank, plans to cut about 1,100 jobs, open new branches and expand its advisory business in Europe as it seeks to almost double profit at its consumer-banking unit.

The Frankfurt-based lender will cut back-office jobs, create 2,500 advisory positions and open 400 new branches in Europe by 2012, Deutsche Bank said yesterday in a statement. The measures are designed to boost pretax profit at the business to about 2 billion euros (US$2.75 billion) in 2012 from 1.1 billion euros last year, Bloomberg News said.

Deutsche Bank agreed last month to become the largest investor in Deutsche Postbank AG, Germany's biggest consumer bank by clients, as the company tries to reduce its dependence on investment banking amid the credit crunch. Deutsche Bank expects to have 18 million consumer-banking customers by 2012, it said yesterday.

"With this program, we are creating the basis for sustainable and profitable growth," Rainer Neske, head of consumer banking, said in the statement. "We want to be the best bank with the best product-and-service offering at each of our locations."

Deutsche Bank will also "continue to pursue the course it has successfully adopted in Asia," the company added.