Germany’s largest lender, Deutsche Bank, reported a loss for the first time in 15 quarters on Wednesday, as it set aside funds for an ongoing lawsuit related to its Postbank division.
The bank reported a net loss of 143 million euros ($155.1 million) attributable to shareholders, slightly better than the 145 million euros loss anticipated by analysts in an LSEG poll.
Earlier this year, in April, Deutsche Bank had recorded a 10% increase in first-quarter profit, surpassing expectations thanks to a rebound in its investment banking division. This was the highest first-quarter profit since 2013 and marked the bank’s 15th consecutive quarterly profit.
However, Deutsche Bank faced scrutiny last week from German regulators for incorrect disclosure of deferred tax assets in its 2019 financial statement, which did not comply with international accounting standards. The German regulator BaFin estimated that approximately 2.076 billion euros worth of deferred tax assets had not been separately disclosed in the notes for Deutsche Bank’s U.S. business.
This regulatory criticism and the provision for the Postbank lawsuit have contributed to Deutsche Bank's recent financial challenges, ending its impressive streak of quarterly profits.
