Deutsche Bank: No wrongdoing found in connection with Danske
Deutsche Bank said on Friday that it was clearing up its regulatory problems and saw no need to set aside money for two key legal matters, specifically involving alleged money laundering through Danske Bank's Estonian branch and suspicions based on the leaked Panama Papers that its bank employees helped clients launder money through offshore accounts.
Chief administrative officer Karl von Rohr said on Friday that an internal probe at Deutsche showed no wrongdoing in handling transfers from Danske Bank. Deutsche Bank severed its relationship with the German bank in 2015.
He also said German banking regulators had closed a probe of the Panama Papers material; prosecutors, however, are still investigating.
Mr von Rohr said that 19 of 20 major matters for Deutsche had been settled and that litigation set-asides had fallen to €1.2 billion at the end of last year, down from €7.6 billion at the end of 2016.
Following three years of losses, Deutsche Bank made a profit in 2018 as it hit targets for cutting costs, it said.
The firm reported a net profit of €267 million, up from a loss of €751 million in 2017 and a combined €8.2 billion over the previous two years combined. The result was nonetheless short of the analyst-forecasted €505 million profit, however.
Weighing on earnings was a final quarter last year that brought losses of €425 million, with Deutsche blaming "challenging financial markets" and "negative" media headlines.
Editor: Aili Vahtla
