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Deutsche Bank has reported its highest quarterly pre-tax profit in 14 years after a strong performance in its investment banking arm helped the lender defy broader market pressures.
Profit before tax rose 39 per cent year on year to €2.8bn in the first quarter of 2025, outpacing analysts’ expectations by 7 per cent. Revenues grew 10 per cent, buoyed by strong results in investment banking and asset management, while costs fell 2 per cent, helped by lower litigation charges.
The results put Germany’s largest lender “on track for delivery on all our 2025 targets”, chief executive Christian Sewing said in a statement on Tuesday.
Deutsche’s cost-to-income ratio — a key measure of efficiency — improved sharply to 61.2 per cent, down from 68.2 per cent a year earlier and better than analysts’ forecast of 63.8 per cent.
However, provisions for credit losses rose to €471mn, 16 per cent higher than expected.
The bank cited €130mn in provisions for performing loans that included overlays “relating to uncertainties in the geopolitical and macroeconomic outlook in the US”.
