Now may be a good time to get your CV to Deutsche Bank – especially if you work for Citigroup.

A major recruitment drive is expected at Deutsche in Hong Kong as the German giant gears up for its third-quarter 2010 move to Kowloon’s International Commerce Centre. And Citigroup high fliers could be top of its hit list.

Alice Liu, a director at search firm Pelham, says Deutsche has become an “aggressive” Hong Kong hirer as it tries to take on the likes of Citigroup and UBS. She thinks Citi will be Deutsche’s main hunting ground if Ravi Raju, DB’s head of Asia Pacific private wealth management, has his way. Raju, who made the move between the banks himself last year, “knows all the leading names at Citi”.

Deutsche currently employs 1,500 staff in HK, but the office move will almost triple capacity to 4,000. The bank will be hiring for sales, trading, advisory, transaction banking, asset management and wealth management roles, but it has not set a timetable to reach the 4,000-mark, says Michael West, head of Asia communications at DB.

Deutsche’s expansion is a challenge to its rivals because it comes at a time when others are putting the brakes on hiring, says James Carss, a director at recruiters Hudson. “There’s a lot of good local talent around and people from overseas are looking to move here too. So any bank that is recruiting right now will have the pick of the best people,” he adds.

West says booming domestic and Chinese markets are behind the plan to further expand Deutsche’s Hong Kong headcount, which has already grown by 60% since 2005. “We have invested significantly in licences and expansion in China. We see there is a strong underlying growth story for HK, for example in providing private investment banking services to entrepreneurial families and also cross-border into southern China,” he adds.