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Deutsche Bank headquarters in Frankfurt am Main.
Photo: Ralph Orlowski / REUTERS
After a surprisingly good third quarter, confidence is growing at Deutsche Bank.
Despite the unprecedented economic slump as a result of the corona crisis, Germany's largest financial institution was consistently profitable in 2020, CEO Christian Sewing said: "After nine months, our pre-tax profit amounts to 846 million euros, so we are still confident that we will also generate positive pre-tax earnings for the full year to reach."
At the same time, the group also announced that it would be distributing significantly higher bonuses to investment bankers again this year - a practice that the bank had often received harsh public criticism in the past.
In an interview with the business portal "Bloomberg", CFO James von Moltke said bonus increases are planned for investment bankers who have achieved extraordinarily good results.
Profiting from the crisis?
Income from bond trading had risen by 47 percent, and the forecast for the entire financial year in the securities area had been revised upwards.
It is therefore a necessity to reward the investment banking staff for this.
"A company like ours must be able to reward competitive performance," said von Moltke.
The bank has "excellent talent" in the company, but with all caution it must also ensure that these employees are paid in line with the market.
In the summer months, the group benefited from the fact that customers had higher financing and consulting needs due to the corona crisis.
There were more fluctuations on the stock exchanges.
Earnings in the trading of bonds, currencies and interest products have risen particularly strongly, Sewing explained.
In some cases the bank has regained market share from competitors.
The income in the investment bank climbed by 43 percent to 2.4 billion euros.
British bank Barclays and US rivals such as JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs did not grow as strongly in this business.
Deutsche Bank is even prepared for another corona lockdown in Germany.
You will also survive this phase, said von Moltke.
Although the uncertainty has recently increased again, the restrictions in the second quarter showed that the banks were strong enough.
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beb / dpa
