Deutsche Bank Sees Goals on Track as Corporate Division Offsets Investment Bank — Update

By Sarah Sloat and Michael Hennessey

Deutsche Bank reported an increase in third-quarter profit after its corporate and retail banking divisions boosted the group's revenue, offsetting a decline in its investment bank.

The German bank said on Wednesday after-tax profit for the third quarter was 1.85 billion euros ($2.06 billion) compared with 1.82 billion euros for the same period last year. Analysts had forecast 1.7 billion euros, according to a consensus estimate compiled by the bank.

Revenue grew 3.6% to 8.34 billion euros, against consensus expectations of 8.21 billion euros.

Shares in Deutsche Bank were up 2.4% in European midday trading.

Investment bank revenue declined 2% to 2.92 billion euros, in line with expectations, as fixed income and currencies revenue fell 3.4% to 2.39 billion euros. Investment bank pretax profit was 1.08 billion euros, ahead of the consensus of 991 million euros.

Though the performance of Deutsche Bank's investment-banking arm weakened, the results were in line with the analyst consensus. This is unlike some U.S. and European peers that reported lower-than-expected figures, against a volatile backdrop that weighed on capital-market activity during the quarter.

Earlier this month, U.S. banks flagged weakness in fixed-income trading as bond yields soared. Deutsche Bank's 3.4% decline in fixed income was less than the average fall of 5% among U.S. peers in the third quarter, RBC Capital Markets analysts Anke Reingen and Susana Cruz noted.

Fixed-income trading has also weighed on European peers. Barclays last week reported a 19% drop in the segment that weighed on the wider investment bank.

Deutsche Bank's weaker investment-bank figures were offset by growth in other divisions. Corporate bank revenue climbed 8.9%, private bank revenue was up 7.9%, and asset management revenue grew 4.4% in the third quarter.

Pretax profit at its corporate bank grew 11% to 743 million euros--beating the analyst consensus by 16%--driving the bank's overall profit beat, RBC said.

"We see encouraging momentum in Germany, where increasing confidence among clients is creating further growth opportunities for us," said Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing.

Deutsche Bank said results positioned it to reach its 2026 objectives, including revenue of around 33 billion euros.

The company's return on average tangible shareholders' equity--a closely watched profitability metric--was 10.6% in the quarter, compared to 10.7% a year ago.

Write to Sarah Sloat at sarah.sloat@wsj.com and to Michael Hennessey at michael.hennessey@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 28, 2026 06:51 ET (10:51 GMT)