Shares of Deutsche Bank erased losses in New York trade to briefly spike more than 3 percent intraday Friday following market chatter — later refuted — that Qatari investors were increasing their stake in the embattled German lander.
A midday Bloomberg report put a new Qatari stake om the German bank at 25 percent, but Reuters, citing sources, subsequently said Qatar was unlikely to raise its stake in Deutsche Bank to that level. Earlier in the morning, the wire service said Qatari investors do not plan to sell their shares and could consider buying more if Deutsche Bank decides to raise capital.
U.S.-traded shares of Deutsche Bank pulled back and were last changing hands around 1 percent higher.
Funds controlled by Qatar's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani bought 6.1 percent of Deutsche in mid-2014 and increased their stake to just under 10 percent, including options, in July this year.
Germany's biggest bank came under fresh scrutiny in mid-September when it surfaced that the Department of Justice was demanding $14 billion to settle the bank's mortgage lending activities during the housing bubble, before the recession. Its shares hit record lows in New York trade last week but have since recovered amid hopes of a lower settlement figure.
As of June 30, Deutsche Bank said it had 5.5 billion euros ($6.17 billion) in litigation reserves, according to a presentation the bank gave during quarterly earnings.
—Reuters contributed to this report.