James McMurdo, is set to become the head of Deutsche Bank's Australian operation from the coming year as the activity is expected revive.

McMurdo, who has been working as Senior Goldman Sachs executive will take charge of the Deutsche Bank's Australian operation and head the bank's franchise in the country. The move comes as the Deutsche Bank is looking to move to a conservative global presence as it aims to contain the size of its balance sheet.

Mr McMurdo has been working as partner at Goldman Sachs in London, heading its private equity group for Europe. He has earlier worked as co-head of investment banking for Goldman's Australian business. The move comes after Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Australian boss Craig Drummond was appointed as National Australia's Bank chief financial officer.

Deustche's Asia co-chief executive Gunit Chadha said, "James McMurdo is one of the most respected bankers in this key growth market for Deutsche Bank. He brings great depth of experience to this important role and is best suited to help grow our strong position across all our client businesses,"

Mr McMurdo will replace John Macfarlane at eth top job in Australia as he prepared for his retirement in early 2014.