Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, the investment bank owned by German insurance group Allianz, is firing 240 of its staff worldwide in the biggest set of job losses to hit the bank in two years.

The cuts, in London, Frankfurt, New York and Asia, are being driven by Steve Bellotti, the former Merrill Lynch banker who took over as global head of capital markets at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in September.