Deutsche Bank’s Profit Surges 39% in Q1

FRANKFURT: Deutsche Bank reported a notable 39% increase in its first-quarter profit on Tuesday, propelled by a significant revenue surge within its global investment banking division, specifically in bond and currency trading amidst market volatility.

Germany’s leading lender, Deutsche Bank, registered a net profit attributable to shareholders amounting to 1.78 billion euros ($2.03 billion) for the quarter, a substantial rise from the 1.28 billion euros recorded in the corresponding period last year.

This performance surpassed analysts’ projections, which had estimated a profit of approximately 1.64 billion euros.

These results mark the start of a pivotal year for Deutsche Bank as it finalizes its three-year strategic plan and endeavors to achieve a set of objectives that some analysts view as overly ambitious.

CEO Christian Sewing stated that the results “put us on track for delivery on all our 2025 targets”.

The investment banking division emerged as Deutsche Bank’s primary earnings driver. Revenue from fixed-income and currency trading, a key segment for the bank, experienced a 17% increase, exceeding the anticipated gain of 10.3%.

However, origination and advisory services, which had demonstrated substantial gains in previous quarters, witnessed an 8% decline in revenue.

Additionally, Deutsche Bank reported a 90-million-euro writedown related to an unspecified position within its leveraged finance operations.