Deutsche Bank have reported a huge 28% decrease in equity sales and trading revenue today, as it suffers a full-year net loss of €6.8 billion.
The report said corporate banking and securities revenues were down a massive 30% year-on-year to €2.1 billion in the fourth quarter in 2015. The bank said this reflected “valuation adjustments in debt sales and trading, a challenging trading environment, and lower client activity.”
Equity sales and trading revenues were also down by 28%, “driven by lower revenues from cash equities and equity derivatives, partially offset by higher prime finance revenues,” according to the report.
John Cryan, co-chief executive officer, said in a statement: “In 2015 we made considerable progress on the implementation of our strategy. The much-needed decisions we took in the second half of the year contributed to a net loss for the fourth quarter and full year.”
Noninterest expenses increased 19% to €3.1 billion in 2015. The report explained the increase was, “driven by higher litigation costs of €335 million, regulatory-related expenditure and exchange rate movements.”
Risk weighted assets (RWA) also decreased by €11 billion to €397 billion at the end of the fourth quarter in 2015. The report said: “This was largely driven by reductions in market risk, credit risk and credit valuation adjustments, which more than offset increases in RWAs for operational risk and exchange rate movements during the quarter.”
Cryan added: “We are focused on 2016 and continue to work hard to clear up our legacy issues. Restructuring work and investment in our platform will continue throughout the year.”
Deutsche Bank reported an annual profit in 2014 of €1.7 billion. Regulatory fines and expenses for litigation, since the financial crisis in 2008 have been at the forefront for Deutsche Bank in recent years.
According to data compiled by Bloomberg, Deutsche bank has racked up more fines and litigation expenses than any other financial institution on the Continent.
In December 2015, Deutsche Bank revealed plans for management overhaul in Global Transaction Banking division. The move will involve separating the Institutional cash and securities services businesses, according to an internal memo seen by The TRADE's sister publication, Global Custodian.