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Deutsche Bank Slumps to Record Low

Deutsche Bank Slumps to Record Low
Deutsche Bank Slumps to Record Low

Deutsche Bank AG shares dropped to a record low amid concerns that the lender’s capital buffers will be undermined by mounting legal charges including a settlement tied to the sale of US securities.

The shares dropped 4.2% to €10.93 in Frankfurt, an all-time low. The 38-member Bloomberg Europe Banks and Financial Services Index slipped 1.5%, with Deutsche Bank the worst performer, Bloomberg reported.

A potential $14 billion bill to settle a US probe into residential mortgage-backed securities is more than twice the €5.5 billion ($6.2 billion) Deutsche Bank has set aside for litigation. The lender also faces inquiries into legal issues including currency manipulation, precious metals trading and billions of dollars in transfers out of Russia, complicating Chief Executive Officer John Cryan’s efforts to bolster profitability and capital ratios.

Germany’s biggest bank would be “significantly under-capitalized” even assuming enough provisions to cover an eventual settlement with the US Justice Department, Andrew Lim, an analyst at Societe Generale SA, said in a note earlier this month. A settlement range of $3 billion to $3.5 billion would leave the German lender room to settle other legal issues, while any additional $1 billion in litigation charges would erode 24 basis points in capital, JPMorgan Chase & Co. analysts wrote.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out any state assistance for Deutsche Bank in the year heading into the national election in September 2017, Focus magazine reported last week, citing unidentified government officials. The German leader also declined to step into the bank’s legal imbroglio with the DOJ, the magazine reported.

Financialtribune.com