Deutsche Bank announces 965m euro loss in Q4

Flags with the logo of German bank Deutsche Bank flutter in the wind prior to the bank's annual general meeting in the central German city of Frankfurt am Main. (AFP/Arne Dedert)

BERLIN: Deutsch Bank, Germany's biggest bank, announced late Sunday a surprise net loss of 965 million euros (US$1.3 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2013 because of litigation costs and weakening revenues.

In a statement issued more than a week earlier than markets expected, co-CEOs Juergen Fitschen and Anshu Jain gave the loss figure, which amounted to 1.2 billion euros before taxes.

"We expect 2014 to be a year of further challenges and disciplined implementation; however, we are confident of reaching our 2015 targets and delivering on our strategic vision for Deutsche Bank," they said.

The bank will post an overall 2013 net profit of 1.08 billion euros, they said.

It set aside 2.5 billion euros over the year to address lawsuits by US and EU market authorities over a raft of issues, including the rigging of interbank lending rates and alleged hiding of the risks of US subprime mortgages.

Provisions to respond to litigation amounted to 528 million euros in the fourth quarter of 2013. Quarterly revenues were also down 16 per cent, it said.

Deutsche Bank shares fell 3 per cent on Friday, after The Wall Street Journal reported that the bank's fourth-quarter results would fall far short of expectations.

The bank has been hit by a series of probes and litigation.

It has suspended at least seven traders in a scandal over the rigging of interbank lending rates, in which the it received a massive 725-million-euro EU fine.

Last month, it said it had to pay 1.4 billion euros to settle US litigation related to disclosure problems over mortgage-backed securities between 2005 and 2007.

Japanese police early last month also said they had arrested an employee in the bank's securities arm on suspicion of bribery after he lavishly wined and dined a senior pension fund manager.

In yet another, separate, scandal a number of top Deutsche Bank managers were also suspected of involvement in a tax evasion scheme in the trading of carbon emissions certificates.