Deutsche Bank shares slide as investors digest revamp

FRANKFURT AM MAIN: Shares in Deutsche Bank, Germany's embattled biggest lender, continued to decline in trading on Tuesday, as analysts said the jury was still out on the massive restructuring announced at the weekend.

Deutsche Bank stock was down 3.5 percent at 6.55 euros ($7.34) at around 2:40 pm (1240 GMT), placing it among the worst performers on the DAX index of blue-chip companies.

"Given Deutsche Bank's miserable track record in restructurings in recent years, the market is not granting the management any laurels in advance" for its ambitious scheme, said Nord/LB bank analyst Michael Seufert.

Deutsche Bank chief executive Christian Sewing said Sunday that the bank aimed to slash six billion euros of annual costs by 2022, via 18,000 job cuts worldwide, shuttering much of the bank's equities trading business and setting up a so-called "bad bank" unit to sell off 74 billion euros of risky assets.

In future, the lender will refocus on traditional strengths such as bond trading and its corporate clients, while several board members will also be replaced.

Some Deutsche Bank employees at hubs like Hong Kong, London and New York were fired as early as Monday.

But many analysts have pointed out that even as Deutsche Bank cuts jobs and business areas in its simplification drive, it expects revenues to continue growing at a steady pace in the years ahead.

"The bank will have to work hard to earn itself a better valuation on the market... with concrete progress in reshaping the company and improvement in key figures," Nord/LB's Seufert said, although he maintained a "hold" rating on the shares.