Deutsche Bank has surprised investors with a hefty surge in earnings in the first quarter. Germany’s largest lender noted the result came amid deep restructuring after a series of scandals that had hit its reputation.Deutsche Bank on Thursday reported a staggering 143-percent year on year rise in bottom-line profit for the first three months of the year. The lender said its net earnings came in at 575 million euros ($627 million).
Pre-tax income rose by 52 percent in the same period to 878 million euros, the bank said on its investors relations website, adding that it was able to post solid results despite a 9-percent drop in revenues, also year on year.
Deutsche Bank said the decline was predominantly due to a negative swing of 0.7 billion euros resulting from the development of the lender’s credit spreads. It noted that adjusted for that effect, revenues would have been broadly flat.
‘We’re making progress’
“I am pleased with the start we have made to 2017,” CEO John Cryan said in a statement. “Client engagement is strong, asset flows are returning across the bank and activity is picking up,” he concluded.
As part of a large-scale restructuring effort following its involvement in a number of banking scandals, Deutsche reported it had already closed 130 branches across Germany, with almost 60 more to follow in a cost-cutting bid.
The lender announced the opening of eight centers, which would also work on Saturdays to provide counseling for clients.
Deutsche Bank’s workforce shrank by 1,600 between the end of last year and March 31 to 98,177 full-time positions. It had earlier announced plans to shed a total of 9,000 jobs globally by 2018, 4,000 of them in Germany.
Brexit worries
The bank said on Wednesday it might move up to 4,000 jobs away from Britain as it struggled to work out the consequences of Brexit, the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.
“For front office people, who want to deal with a European union client, you need to be based in continental Europe,” Deutsche Bank Chief Regulatory Officer Sylvie Matherat told a Frankfurt conference.
That requirement alone could see some 2,000 of Deutsche’s 9,000 posts in the UK moved.
hg/bb (AFP, dpa)
