Deutsche Bank CFO lowers revenue goal

Frankfurt

JAMES von Moltke, chief financial officer of Deutsche Bank AG, softened the lender's mid-term revenue target just two months after setting it.

The lender now expects revenue of 24 billion euros (US$26.6 billion) to 25 billion euros in 2022, Mr von Moltke said at the Barclays Global Financial Services Conference in New York Monday, compared with a goal of about 25 billion euros announced when the bank presented its new strategy in early July. The economic environment has become "more fragile" since then, he said.

"We planned for something between 24 and 25 billion" euros in revenue, he added. "We think that remains achievable, but we're obviously facing a headwind from interest rates."

Deutsche Bank climbed as much as 1.2 per cent in Frankfurt trading and was up 1 per cent at 7.40 euros as of 9:06am The stock has gained 6.4 per cent this year after rebounding from a record low last month.

Chief executive officer Christian Sewing this summer unveiled the lender's most sweeping restructuring in recent history, shuttering equities trading and promising to cut a fifth of the workforce over the next few years. But analysts are sceptical the bank will achieve a target of growing its core businesses by an average of 2 per cent per year.

Deutsche Bank has already tweaked the plan to boost its revenue position. In late July, it took assets out of a non-core unit created to facilitate disposals and placed them back into the main business. That move increased core revenue by 550 million euros.

Mr von Moltke indicated that the exit from equities trading will have some impact on the investment bank this quarter, while highlighting that 70 per cent of the lender's revenue comes from more stable sources that have recently seen growth. That growth should continue in the single digits this quarter, he said. BLOOMBERG