Deutsche Bank posts €3.1 billion Q2 loss

Germany's largest lender Deutsche Bank on Wednesday reported a second-quarter net loss of €3.1 billion ($3.5 billion), weeks after announcing a drastic bid to turn its fortunes around.

The figure was 10% higher than the Frankfurt-based firm's previous prediction of a €2.8 billion loss.

CEO Christian Sewing blamed the major restructuring program, announced last month, which includes 18,000 job losses globally and creation of a bad bank to offload toxic assets.

"We have already taken significant steps to implement our strategy to transform Deutsche Bank. These are reflected in our results," he said in a statement.

Without the cost of overhauling the business, the bank would have made €231 million after tax, it calculated.

Read more: Deutsche Bank's bad bank a 'pimple on the backside'

The biggest fall came at the investment banking division, which is set to suffer the deepest cuts during the restructuring, with share trading revenue in particular down 32% year-on-year.

Outside share trading, the remaining businesses including the corporate and retail banks and asset management saw a gentler fall in revenues of 2%.

Over the whole year, Deutsche Bank expects falling revenues and a negative bottom line. But management says its cash and capital reserves are sufficient.

Deutsche Bank's restructuring includes a retreat from most share trading activities and a refocus on its German and European business, after failing to compete with Wall Street titans.

The reorganization also follows the failure of merger talks with rival Commerzbank in April.

The bank's share price dropped 4.2% to €6.84 by noon on Wednesday.

mm/uhe (AFP, dpa)

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