Deutsche Bank returns to profit in third quarter

Watch: Deutsche Bank records Q3 profit

Deutsche Bank (DB) on Wednesday reported a €182m (£164m, $214m) net profit in the third quarter, the first quarterly profit since Q1 2019, amid a strong performance in its investment bank arm and ongoing restructuring.

In the same quarter in 2019, Deutsche posted a net loss of €832m. The German lender said that group net revenue grew 13% year-on-year to €5.9bn in the third quarter, with investment bank net revenue growing by 43% to €2.4bn.

Deutsche Bank’s provision for credit losses came to €273m in the third quarter, following allocations of €761m in the second quarter, and €506m in Q2.

“In the fifth quarter of our transformation, we not only demonstrated continued cost discipline, but also our ability to gain market share,” said Deutsche Bank chief executive Christian Sewing in a statement. “Our more focused business model is paying off and we see a substantial part of our revenue growth as sustainable.”

As part of its extensive restructuring plan, launched in July last year, Deutsche Bank has said it aims to reduce its overall staff by 18,000 by 2022.

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Bloomberg reported last week that it was in discussions to sell its IT services division Postbank Systems, with Tata Consultancy Services a potential buyer. Postbank Systems has 1,400 employees.

HSBC (HSBA.L) also announced sweeping job cuts as part of its overhaul at the beginning of this year. It said this week that it has cut 6,000 jobs out of a planned 10,000 this year. It plans to cut 35,000 in total.

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