In the final quarter of Deutsche Bank AG’s four-year turnaround, the businesses that were supposed to be the centerpiece of Christian Sewing’s overhaul are finally coming into their own.
(Bloomberg) — In the final quarter of Deutsche Bank AG’s four-year turnaround, the businesses that were supposed to be the centerpiece of Christian Sewing’s overhaul are finally coming into their own.
Combined pretax profit at the corporate and retail units soared more than sevenfold from a year earlier. That helped drive annual profit to the highest in 15 years, even as the investment bank that fueled Deutsche Bank’s growth for most of the past years saw earnings slump by two thirds.
Chief Executive Officer Sewing has said he wants the corporate and private bank to take over as growth engines for the coming years, as Europe finally emerges from its long experiment with negative interest rates. The fourth quarter suggests that great rotation is well on its way.
The sudden increase in central bank interest rates has allowed lenders to charge more for loans while they take time to pass on the benefits to savers. Chief Financial Officer James von Moltke cautioned, however, that this effect will eventually fade when banks lift deposit rates.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.