Deutsche Bank reported a 39% increase in first-quarter profit, driven by a surge in revenue from bond and currency trading, particularly during volatile markets.
The bank’s net profit attributable to shareholders reached 1.78 billion euros ($2.03 billion), up from 1.28 billion euros a year ago. This result exceeded analysts’ expectations, which forecasted a profit of around 1.64 billion euros.
Despite the strong performance, Deutsche Bank faced challenges, including a writedown related to a leveraged-finance deal and additional provisions to address potential impacts from tariffs on clients.
The results mark the beginning of a critical year for the bank as it works through a three-year strategic plan and strives to meet ambitious targets for 2025. CEO Christian Sewing emphasized that the bank is “on track for delivery on all our 2025 targets.”
Deutsche’s investment bank was the largest contributor to its earnings. Revenue from fixed-income and currency trading, one of the bank’s key businesses, rose 17%, surpassing expectations of a 10.3% increase. However, the bank’s origination and advisory division saw an 8% drop in revenue, partly due to a 90-million-euro writedown on an undisclosed position in its leveraged finance business.
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