Deutsche Bank is reporting an oversized drop in its trading revenues. The slump is particularly big in the fixed income and currencies (FIC) unit. The company is continuing to cede market share to its rivals as the size of the yearly decline is double when compared to the top five major investment banks from the US that have reported so far.
Deutsche Bank’s corporate and investment bank unit reported a decline in revenues of 23 percent to €3.5 billion. Trading revenues from the FIC unit were lower by 36 percent. The company highlighted challenging market and interest rate environments.
Client activity remained low when compared to a quarter that was materially more vivid last year when the Brexit trade has stirred market Volatility . That said, the higher decline, when compared to its peers, is reflective of the different choices that clients are making.
The German giant’s asset management unit posted revenues of €628 million, a figure that is more or less flat year-on-year.
Commenting on the results, the CEO of the company John Cryan said: “While the revenue environment remained challenging, we have made significant progress on our key initiatives such as the planned merger of Deutsche Bank and Postbank in Germany as well as the preparation for the IPO of our asset management business.”
Despite the performance of the trading desk at Deutsche, the company’s profitability increased when compared to the previous year. The German lender’s net income doubled to €649 million. Cost-cutting measures are starting to yield results as the company’s headcount declined by 4,000 year-on-year.
“We are convinced that the benefits of our efforts will step by step become more apparent in the coming quarters and years,” Cryan stressed.
