Deutsche Bank reports loss as legal costs surge

Deutsche Bank has reported losses for the fourth quarter of 2013, owing to a surge in litigation costs accrued over the past year.

The German bank, which has been involved in a number of high-profile scandals, has released its latest results earlier than expected, reporting pre-tax losses of €1.15 billion (£950m).

The bank said that mounting legal costs, as well as 2013 being the second successive year for future growth investment, had impacted on overall performance. It added, though, that core business profits were the highest in the past decade.

Jürgen Fitschen and Anshu Jain, Deutsche Bank CEOs, said, “2013 was the second successive year in which we have invested in the bank’s future growth and in further strengthening our controls while addressing legacy issues. These factors impacted our financial results.

“Nonetheless, underlying core business profitability was amongst the highest of the past decade, and we have made Deutsche Bank fitter, safer and better balanced. 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.”

The bank – which is Germany’s largest lender – has paid out some hefty fines in the past 12 months, including a settlement with the US Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) of €1.4 billion (£1.16 billion), over selling financial products backed by mortgage loans between 2005 and 2007.

It was also fined €725m (£597m) by the European Commission over fixing the rate of two inter-bank lending benchmarks.

Further reading:

Deutsche Bank slammed by German regulator over Libor response

Multinational banks face foreign exchange investigation

RBS among eight major banks fined by EU over rate-rigging

Dutch bank Rabobank to pay £637m fine for Libor scandal

RBS braced for hefty Libor penalties