It was a 10th consecutive quarter of profit for the bank's longest streak in the black in at least a decade, though returns were dampened by an industry slump in dealmaking. Full-year profit jumped to 5.025 billion euros from 1.940 billion euros a year earlier, beating analyst expectations for 4.174 billion euros. It was the largest annual profit since 2007, Deutsche said, helped by a 1.4 billion euro tax benefit. Germany's biggest bank also exceeded its 8% target for return on tangible equity, reaching a figure of 9.4% to achieve a milestone that Chief Executive Christian Sewing had set for the bank when it embarked on a major overhaul in 2019. "Over the past three and a half years we have successfully transformed Deutsche Bank," said Sewing, who was promoted to the top job in 2018 to turn Deutsche around after a series of costly regulatory failings. Still, analysts said the bank is vulnerable to a slower economy, high inflation rates, war on the continent and regulatory issues that have plagued it over the years.
Deutsche Bank in 2019 set out on a journey to reduce reliance on its volatile investment bank and restore profitability through more stable businesses that serve companies and retail customers. It did not quite turn out that way, though the tide has turned more recently. Revenue at Deutsche's investment bank fell to 1.7 billion euros in the fourth quarter, down 12% from a year earlier and below expectations of 1.9 billion euros. The investment bank's origination and advisory business stood out, with revenue dropping 71%, mirroring slumps at other banks including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan. Revenue for fixed-income and currency trading, one of the bank's largest divisions, rose 27% to 1.5 billon euros but was still short of the 1.7 billion euros expected by analysts. The performance will be reflected in bonuses. The investment bank's bonus pool for last year will fall by somewhat less than 10%, Reuters has reported, providing more evidence of tougher times in finance. The investment bank's revenue decline was countered by gains in corporate and retail banking, which registered increases of 30% and 23% respectively. The divisions had long stagnated under ultra-low interest rates that lasted longer than expected. ($1 = 0.9087 euros) <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Deutsche Bank results Report card Deutsche Bank shares ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Tom Sims and Marta Orosz Editing by Janane Venkatraman, Christopher Cushing and David Goodman )
