Deutsche Bank posts 2.2 billion euro net loss in December quarter

Deutsche Bank, co-headed by India-origin Anshu Jain, today posted a net loss of 2.2 billion euro (around Rs 15,890 crore) in the quarter ended December as huge restructuring and litigation expenses hurt the bottom line.

The European banking major recorded charges to the tune of 2.9 billion euro - including 1 billion euro litigation expenses - in the latest December quarter pushing it into loss.

In the 2011 December quarter, the entity had a net profit of 186 million euro.

Deutsche Bank co-chairmen Anshu Jain and Jurgen Fitschen said this is the most comprehensive reconfiguration of Deutsche Bank in recent times.

"Our business divisions achieved strong operating results and we made good progress in our Operational Excellence Program, achieving some 400 million euro of savings in the second half of 2012," they said in a statement.

Stating that the bank is on course for fundamental cultural change, they said, "this journey will take years, not months."

Revenue jumped to 7.87 billion euro in 2012 December quarter from 6.89 billion euro in the year-ago period. "In 4Q (fourth quarter) 2012 the bank also took 1 billion euro of significant litigation related charges (significant meaning charges larger than 100 million euro), reflecting adverse court rulings and developments in regulatory investigations," the statement said.

According to Deutsche Bank, impairment charges on goodwill and other intangible assets touched 1.9 billion euro in the three months ended December.

"These were primarily related to businesses acquired by Corporate Banking & Securities (CB&S) and Asset and Wealth Management (AWM) prior to 2003 and to businesses assigned to the Non-Core Operations Unit," the statement said.

The impairment charges reflect the implementation of strategic initiatives, it added.

"With the launch of Strategy 2015+ in September, we embarked upon the path of deliberate but sometimes uncomfortable change in order to deliver long term sustainable success for the bank," Mr Jain and Mr Fitschen said.