Deutsche Bank announced a net loss of €1.6bn for the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to a net loss of €507m in the same quarter of 2018.
In the third quarter of 2019, the German banking group reported €832m net loss.
For the fourth quarter, the bank registered a pre-tax loss of €1.29bn in the reported quarter compared to a loss before tax of €319m in the fourth quarter in the year before. The fourth quarter saw the bank take €1.1bn charge owing to €608m spent on transformation activities, and €473m on restructuring, and severance related expenses.
Deutsche Bank has been undergoing a restructuring programme
Performances of the bank in both the third and fourth quarter of 2019 have been impacted by the restructuring programme announced last July, which includes the layoff of almost 18,000 employees by 2022.
The total net revenues in Q4 2019 were down by 4% to €5.35bn compared to €5.57bn in Q4 2018. In Q3 2019, the bank’s total net revenues were €5.26bn.
In the fourth quarter, the net revenues of the corporate banking business were down by 5% to €1.29bn compared to €1.35bn in Q4 2018.
Deutsche Bank’s investment banking business saw a 13% growth in its fourth-quarter net revenues at €1.52bn compared to €1.34bn made in the same quarter in the previous year.
The group’s private banking business reported a 4% drop in net revenues in the fourth quarter at €1.98bn in comparison to €2.07bn reported in Q4 2018.
For the full year 2019, Deutsche Bank reported €5.7bn, compared to a net loss of €52m in the full year 2018.
The bank’s net revenues for the full year 2019 were down by 8% to €23.16bn compared to €25.31bn made in the full year 2018.
Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing said: “Stabilising revenues in the second half of 2019 and our consistent cost discipline both contributed to better operating performance than in 2018. Our client business is developing well, right across the bank.
“With our strong capital position and a Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 13.6%, we’re very confident we can finance our transformation with our own resources and return to growth.”
