Deutsche Bank To Cut Jobs After Drop In 2023 Profit

Germany's biggest lender Deutsche Bank on Thursday announced plans to slash 3,500 jobs as part of a major cost-cutting drive after its net profit fell in 2023.

The group reported a net profit attributable to shareholders of 4.2 billion euros ($4.5 billion), a 16-percent drop on the year before when profits were boosted by a one-off tax benefit.

Costs related to the company's savings and efficiency program -- first announced in 2019 -- also weighed on net profit, with Deutsche spending 566 million euros on restructuring and severance expenses.

Revenues, however, jumped six percent year-on-year to 28.9 billion euros thanks to the European Central Bank's higher interest rates.

Chief executive Christian Sewing in a statement praised the bank's performance in "an uncertain environment" and highlighted that Deutsche had achieved a pre-tax profit of nearly 5.7 billion euros, the highest in 16 years.

"Cost discipline remains a high priority," he added in a message to Deutsche staff, as the lender presses ahead with a 2.5-billion-euro efficiency push aimed at improving profitability.

As part of those efforts, Deutsche said it plans to cut around 3,500 jobs over the next two years, "mainly in non-client-facing areas".

The group expects to spend almost 400 million euros on restructuring costs in 2024, including further severance packages, chief financial officer James von Moltke said in a press conference.

The bank employed around 90,000 people globally at the end of last year.

Deutsche also unveiled new targets for 2025, saying it would aim to achieve revenues of 32 billion euros and operate with total costs of around 20 billion euros.

For 2023, the group will propose shareholder dividends of 0.45 euros per share, a 50-percent increase on 2022.

"Our ambition is to be able to pay a dividend of one euro per share for the financial year 2025," Sewing added.

Shares in Deutsche were up by almost five percent in late morning trading in Frankfurt.