Deutsche Bank reports $3B Loss from cost of job cuts

Deutsche Bank AG (DBK), Europe’s biggest bank by assets, posted a fourth-quarter loss that exceeded estimates after the company eliminated more than 1,400 jobs and set aside 1 billion euros ($1.35 billion) for legal expenses.

The loss of 2.17 billion euros, the biggest in four years, was about eight times larger than the consensus analyst forecast. It compared with a profit of 147 million euros in the year-earlier period.

Co-Chief Executive Officers Juergen Fitschen and Anshu Jain are restructuring operations and bolstering capital levels, the lowest among Europe’s biggest investment banks, in their first year in charge to help meet stricter banking rules. Costs associated with job cuts and litigation countered an increase in trading revenue, spurred by the European Central Bank’s steps to stem the sovereign debt crisis.

The loss “reflects a number of decisions we took to position Deutsche Bank,” Jain said in the earnings statement. “We’ve galvanized Deutsche Bank around the achievement of our capital targets.”

Deutsche Bank was little changed at 37.15 euros by 9:44 a.m. in Frankfurt trading. The bank’s shares have lagged behind rivals, climbing 15 percent over the past year compared with an increase of 23 percent for the benchmark Stoxx 600 Banks Index.

Bloomberg

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