Deutsche Bank has announced its largest annual profit since 2007, reporting a net profit attributable to shareholders of 6.12 billion euros for 2025. This achievement, boosted by a robust performance from its global investment bank, marks the bank’s sixth consecutive year of profitability and exceeds analyst expectations. Deutsche Bank is Germany’s largest bank and a major global financial institution, providing a wide range of services including investment banking, retail banking, and asset management to clients worldwide. The bank had pledged and met a key profit target of more than 10% known as return on tangible equity.
The investment bank division was a major revenue driver, with a 5% increase in revenue during the quarter. Revenue for fixed-income and currency trading also rose 7%, surpassing expectations. However, not all divisions met projections, with the retail division reporting a 3% revenue increase, slightly below the anticipated 3.9%. The corporate bank experienced a 2% revenue decline, while analysts had forecast a drop of around 1%. Looking ahead, Deutsche Bank anticipates revenues to grow to approximately 33 billion euros in 2026.
Despite the positive financial results, the announcement was overshadowed by an ongoing investigation into alleged money laundering. German federal police searched Deutsche Bank for a second day as part of the probe, which is focused on unidentified individuals and bank employees. CEO Christian Sewing stated that the investigation was triggered by the alleged late filing of a suspicious activity report involving transactions between 2013 and 2018, and affirmed the bank’s full cooperation with authorities.
Following the news of the investigation, Deutsche Bank’s shares experienced a decline. The credit ratings agency S&P indicated in a recent report that German bank earnings are expected to improve beyond 2025, supported by increased lending due to government spending on infrastructure and defence. The agency had also revised Deutsche’s outlook to positive in December.
