Deutsche Bank announces sale of Postbank stake
April 25, 2015
Germany's largest private lender announced late Friday it was selling its Postbank subsidiary as part of a restructuring designed to improve profitability.
"The bank…will deconsolidate Postbank," Deutsche Bank said in a statement, adding it was trying "to achieve greater efficiency and a more robust control environment."
Deutsche Bank has held a majority stake in Postbank since 2010. The Bonn-headquartered Postbank has around 14 million customers and posted a net profit last year of $302 million (278 million euros).
A Deutsche Bank spokesman said the company will reduce its stake in Postbank to under 50 percent.
As part of the restructuring, Deutsche Bank will also cut back its investment banking, and invest more in transaction banking as well as its own retail businesses. The bank will also reduce the number of countries in which it operates.
The bank will reveal additional details about the restructuring on Monday.
The restructuring announcement comes shortly after US and British regulators fined Deutsche Bank a record $2.5 billion over the manipulation of benchmark interest rates.
bw/bk (dpa, Reuters, AFP)