Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) is preparing to introduce its inaugural digital asset offering within weeks, beginning with cryptocurrency custody services for institutional clients before rolling the platform out to major financial centers across Asia the following year.

Gerald Podobnik, co-head of Deutsche Bank’s corporate bank and a longtime executive at the firm, outlined the timeline while attending the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Bangkok.

He described the initiative as a deliberate step to capture opportunities created by the expanding digital economy.

The bank views the move as one element of a wider push to deliver compound annual growth of roughly 8 percent in its corporate banking…