Deutsche Bank results hit by litigation and negative rates

Deutsche Bank posted a loss of €1.4 billion (£1.2 billion) for 2016 on Thursday, citing restructuring and "negative news flow" around a fine from the US Department of Justice.
In the final three months of 2016 alone the bank lost €1.9bn, mainly thanks to a record penalty in the US. Earlier this week, it was fined £500m in connection with a Russian money laundering plan.

Looking beyond the net result, Deutsche saw revenues shrink by 10% in 2016 compared with the previous year, at just over €30 billion, "as a challenging market environment and persistent low interest rate environment negatively impacted the business", the bank wrote in the statement. Meanwhile, the bank's underlying, or operating result before interest and taxes was €810 million in the red.

Chief executive John Cryan said: "Our results for the year 2016 were heavily impacted by decisive management action taken to improve and modernise the bank, as well as by market turbulence for Deutsche Bank.
"We proved our resilience in a particularly tough year. We finished 2016 with pleasingly strong capital and liquidity ratios and we are optimistic after a promising start to this year."

Deutsche Bank is in the process of closing 200 branches in Germany and laying off about 9,000 of its roughly 100,000 full-time staff.

Deutsche Bank recently told staff that it was cancelled performance-related bonuses for senior staff. ”Our results for the year 2016 were heavily impacted by decisive management action taken to improve and modernise the bank, as well as by market turbulence for Deutsche Bank,” Cryan said on Tuesday in the bank’s results statement.