Deutsche Bank partners with Microsoft, HCL, IBM in tech lab launch

FRANKFURT, June 3 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank (Xetra: 514000 - news) will launch three innovation labs this year, partnering with big development firms to speed creation of financial technology for its own uses and will spend up to 1 billion euros ($1.11 billion) on digital development in the next 5 years.

Germany's largest lender, which is overhauling its own infrastructure, said it would work with three technology partners for the labs, including Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT - news) in Berlin, HCL in London and IBM (NYSE: IBM - news) in Silicon Valley.

The announcement confirms a Reuters story from Tuesday, which said Deutsche Bank was preparing to launch the labs by year-end to address rapidly changing needs of the banking sector and its clients.

"These labs will act as a bridge between start-ups and different parts of the bank, enabling it to apply innovative technology to enhance service to clients and internal processes," said Henry Ritchotte, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Digital Officer at the bank in a statement. ($1 = 0.8973 euros) (Reporting by Thomas Atkins; Editing by Harro ten Wolde)