Deutsche Bank rules out European merger or state bailout after settlement with US DOJ
03 Jan 2017
Deutsche Bank chairman Paul Achleitner had ruled out a European merger or a state bailout after the lender's mortgage settlement with the US Department of Justice, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported, according to Reuters.
The bank, Germany's biggest, last week announced a $7.2 billion settlement with the US Department of Justice over its sale and pooling of mortgage securities in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis.
"The management board in principle looks at everything that could help the business," Achleitner said in an interview with the weekly newspaper published on Sunday.
"At the moment, however, enthusiasm for a pan-European merger is muted as we have other priorities," he said, when asked why Deutsche does not merge with Italy's UniCredit or another lender.
Achleitner, however, said in an interview that the bank's management board in principle is looking at everything that could help the business.
''At the moment, however, enthusiasm for a pan-European merger is muted as we have other priorities,'' he said, when asked why Deutsche does not merge with Italy's UniCredit or another lender.
Deutsche, which is trying to simplify its operations to make it more efficient, would keep its investment banking operations and ensure they complied with political and regulatory rules, Achleitner said.
Reguators, including Germany's Bundesbank and the European Central Bank, have called for more consolidation in the banking sector, saying there are still too many banks despite a steady fall in the number of branches since the 2008 financial crisis.
