(Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Bank AG made its first hire of a base metals trader as the German lender plots a partial return to the business about a decade after pulling back.

Thiebaud Format will join Deutsche Bank in London from BNP Paribas SA, according to people familiar with the matter. He will work on the existing precious metals desk but his role will include some base metals trading, one of the people said. All asked not to be identified discussing the private information.

A spokesman for Deutsche Bank declined to comment.

The hire is part of trading head Ram Nayak’s strategy to selectively expand offerings in a bid to keep growth intact at the fixed income and currencies unit that has driven much of the lender’s turnaround. Deutsche Bank in 2013 decided to exit dedicated energy, agriculture, dry bulk and base metals trading and fold precious metals into the fixed income unit, as tighter rules made the business less attractive.

The bank had been discussing a return to base metals trading as prices for the commodities soared and Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing seeks to boost growth, Bloomberg reported last year. 

Deutsche Bank joins firms such as Bank of America Corp. and Morgan Stanley that also recently made hires in the business, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate increases have fueled swings in metals markets. Prices for copper, gold and aluminum all surged to records this year before receding recently.

The fixed income division is Deutsche Bank’s only trading unit after it exited equities, and its the biggest revenue contributor. But the business is expected to slow next year as the favorable trading conditions subside, leaving Sewing and Nayak looking for other options to make up for the decline.

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