Deutsche Bank's profits nosedived from €800 million to just €20 million
Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest lender, posted second quarter net income of €20 million (£17 million), down from more than €800 million (£669 million) a year earlier.
Pre-tax profit declined 67% to €408 million (£341.2 million) in the period April to June.
The investment bank's trading, markets, and corporate finance revenue all dropped while restructuring costs, including €67 million (£56 million) in severance payouts, increased.
Overall, revenue fell by 20% compared to the second quarter last year, hitting €7.4 billion (£6.1 billion).
Despite the profit hit, Deutsche Bank outperformed expectations. Analysts surveyed byBloomberg estimated a loss of €22 million (£18.4 million).
Deutsche Bank has tried to simplify its business, cut costs and reduce litigation and fines from poor conduct, as part of a plan started in October last year by new CEO John Cryan.
The firm has scaled back on businesses that use a lot of regulatory capital, such as trading and markets, to free up resources.
Cryan said in a statement: "While our results show that we are undergoing a sustained restructuring, we are satisfied with the progress we are making."
"We have continued to de-risk our balance sheet, to invest in our processes and to modernise our infrastructure. However, if the current weak economic environment persists, we will need to be yet more ambitious in the timing and intensity of our restructuring," Cryan said.
Cryan inherited a bank that lacked capital reserves and was hampered by high costs of fines and litigation but shares have struggled in the nine months since the CEO's kicked off his ambitious turnaround plan.
Here's the chart:Investing
Deutsche Bank's credit rating was lowered by Moody's earlier this year, citing difficulties with the lender's plan to stabilise itself in a world of low growth and low interest rates.
The bank's credit rating for senior unsecured debt, which is not backed by collateral but is ahead of junior debt in the queue for assets in the event of bankruptcy, was lowered to two notches above junk.
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