Enlarge image
Lost times endured: Deutsche Bank boss Christian Sewing
Photo: RALPH ORLOWSKI/ REUTERS
Deutsche Bank made billions in profit in 2021 and had its best result in ten years.
The pre-tax profit climbed within a year from a good one billion euros to around 3.4 billion euros, as announced by Germany's largest financial institution.
After taxes, the balance sheet stood at 2.5 billion euros – more than four times as much as in the first year of the pandemic and more than analysts expected on average.
After deducting interest payments to the holders of equity-like bonds, the bottom line is a good 1.9 billion euros.
In 2020 as a whole, Deutsche Bank made a profit again for the first time after five years of losses in a row with 113 million euros.
"All four business areas are developing as planned or even better, and we have made faster progress than expected in reducing old stocks," summarized CEO Christian Sewing.
The expected costs of the group restructuring initiated in 2019 have been almost completely digested.
The bank also benefited in 2021 from having to set aside significantly less money for possible loan defaults than in the first year of the corona pandemic.
The biggest profit maker was again investment banking, in which the Dax group earns money by trading bonds and currencies, for example.
After two zero rounds, shareholders should again receive a dividend of 20 cents per share for the 2021 financial year, as the bank announced on Wednesday evening.
kig/dpa-AFX