Deutsche Bank said on Thursday that it would shrink its operations in the United States and Asia and focus on Europe, effectively abandoning its ambition to be a member of Wall Street’s big leagues.

The decision, after years of losses, scandals, and management turmoil, ends a 20-year quest by Germany’s largest bank to compete eye to eye with the likes of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase.

But it also leaves those behemoths dominant in global investment banking, entrenching a concentration of financial power that may unsettle some political leaders at a time of rising tensions over trade.

Deutsche Bank will retain a presence in the United States, but scale back operations such as trading and providing services to hedge funds. Instead, in the first major shift by Christian Sewing, who was this month appointed the bank’s third chief executive in three years, it will concentrate on European clients.