Deutsche Bank yesterday reported a big jump in earnings for the first nine months of this year, helped by a strong performance in its investment banking division despite uncertain stock market conditions.
The rise was also driven by a big increase in profits at Deutsche's retail banking division, Deutsche Bank 24.
Deutsche Bank, which plans to turn the branch and online banking unit into a pan-European distribution network for its investment products, also indicated it was no longer interested in selling a stake in DB24 to Allianz.
Pre-tax profits at Germany's largest bank rose 126 per cent in the first nine months of this year to €5.9 billion Third-quarter profits were €1.05 billion, against €402 million in the same period last year.
Mr Rolf Breuer, chairman, said he expected earnings to remain solid for the full year.
Analysts said the results suggested Deutsche's Global Corporates and Institutions (GCI) investment banking division was able to keep producing profits in a volatile market.
GCI increased pre-tax profits for the nine months from €1.9 billion to 3.21 billion, accounting for around 54 per cent of total group profits. "GCI is clearly not just a fair-weather investment bank," said Mr James Hyde, senior banking analyst at Fox Pitt Kelton in London.
Deutsche Bank has been transformed over the past few years from a traditional German universal bank into a global financial powerhouse. Analysts say the 1998 acquisition of Bankers Trust, the New York-based investment bank, has helped push Deutsche closer to the ranks of "bulge bracket" investment banks.
However, Mr Dieter Hein, analyst at Credit Lyonnais Securities in Frankfurt, cautioned that the figures had been flattered by one-off factors. Bankers Trust earnings were only consolidated into last year's accounts from June. In addition, Deutsche booked a gain of more than €2 billion from the sale of a stake in Allianz in the second quarter.
