Deutsche Bank considers alternatives to Postbank IPO - CFO

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank will consider alternatives to an initial public offering when divesting its retail Postbank business, Chief Financial Officer Stefan Krause said. "It's the basis of our thinking right now to follow the IPO route," he said during a conference call with analysts to discuss the bank's strategic revamp. "We don't rule out any alternative," he added. An IPO is seen as the safer path and potential proceeds are not the main driver for an exit of the business Deutsche Bank bought only seven years ago. "The big benefit from the Postbank (divestment) does not come from the sales price, the big benefit comes from the RWA (risk-weighted assets) release," Krause said. Deutsche Bank declined to comment on the status of its stake in China's Hua Xia Bank <600015.SS>, but Chief Executive Anshu Jain said that the bank remains committed to China. Germany's flagship lender has received at least one offer from a Chinese financial institution for its 20 percent stake in Hua Xia, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters last week. (Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Christoph Steitz)