Germany’s biggest creditor on Thursday reported a € 113 million ($ 135.6 million) profit in 2020, compared to a € 5.7 billion ($ 6.8 billion) loss a year earlier. The last time it reported an annual net profit was in 2014, according to data provider Refinitiv.
The turnaround was driven by a 32% increase in revenue from its investment banking division, which has been the focus of strategic reform aimed at drastically reducing the unit.
The investment bank was the only business unit that grew revenue in 2020, despite Deutsche Bank’s plan, revealed in 2019, to return to its roots and focus on the corporate bank.
Credit loss provisions more than doubled during the year, to € 1.8 billion (US $ 2.2 billion).
“In the most important year of our transformation, we were able to more than offset the effects related to the transformation and the high credit provisions – despite the global pandemic,” said CEO Christian Sewing.
–This is a developing story and will be updated.