The Deutsche Bank Pension Scheme has completed a £1.1bn full buy-in with Legal & General (L&G), securing the retirement benefits of around 4,000 members.

The deal, which is the scheme's third buy-in with L&G following a £570m buy-in in 2021 and a £500m buy-in in 2023, brings the total of insured liabilities with L&G to £2.1bn.

It was completed under an existing umbrella contract with L&G, which ensured a "smooth" agreement of commercial terms.

LCP acted as the lead transaction adviser to the trustee of the scheme, while transaction legal advice was provided to the trustee by CMS and to L&G by DLA Piper UK LLP.

The deal marked the final step in the scheme's phased buy-in strategy to fully insure all of the scheme's accrued benefits, and includes a facility to accommodate new benefits for the 250 active employee members as they accrue additional service.

Commenting on the news, Deutsche Bank Pension Scheme chair of the trustee board, Michael Wrobel, said: “We are delighted to have completed this full buy-in of the scheme’s liabilities with L&G to further improve the security of members’ benefits. The scheme has reached its long-term target significantly ahead of the plan we set in 2018.

"The existing relationship with L&G has been fundamental in helping us achieve this and allowed us to move quickly to lock in attractive pricing for this and previous transactions.”

Adding to this, Deutsche Bank head of global pension and benefits, Jeremy Sowden, said that the deal was an "excellent result" for the members, the trustee and the bank.

"Our collaborative working relationship with the trustee and its advisers has been key to the successful and efficient implementation of the plan," he explained.

"The bank and trustee took the opportunity presented by market conditions to fully insure accrued liabilities much earlier than previously planned and the resulting successful transaction represents an important milestone in our global strategy to manage defined benefit scheme risk.”

LCP partner, Charlie Finch, also highlighted the transaction as a "textbook example of a successful phased buy-in strategy", noting that the scheme has been able to reach full insurance "materially ahead of plan".

"We have worked with the scheme since 2018 to design the strategy and produce a roadmap that met all parties’ objectives," Finch added.

"The preparation work and strong insurer relationships have been fundamental in allowing the scheme to execute buy-ins at highly attractive pricing and move quickly to complete a complex final transaction.”

This article was originally published on our sister website, Pensions Age.

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