Deutsche Bank expects big losses
October 8, 2015
Deutsche Bank warned on Wednesday night that it might not pay any dividend at all to shareholders this year, estimating a net loss of 6.2 billion euros ($6.9 billion) for the third quarter.
"The management board will recommend a reduction or possible elimination of the Deutsche Bank common share dividend for the fiscal year of 2015," the bank said in a statement published on its website. Shares in Deutsche Bank slumped after the announcement.
Germany's flagship finance firm appeared to still be suffering a hangover from the financial crisis, with capital write-offs blamed for the bulk of the losses.
The bank apportioned its major costs into three segments, the largest part down to goodwill write-offs at its investment bank as well as a shortfall in the valuation of its retail subsidiary Postbank. Those write-offs totalled some 5.8 billion euros. The company was also compelled to set aside 1.2 billion euros to deal with ongoing litigation.
In addition, Deutsche Bank had to sustain a 600 million euro fall in the value of its share in China's Hua Xia Bank.
The figures announced are preliminary, with the bank set to announce its third quarter results in full on October 29.
rc/msh (AFP, dpa, Reuters)