Deutsche Bank CEO expects to resolve major litigation items by mid-March
's negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice has created uncertainty and hit strategy planning for the bank, John Cryan, chief executive officer of Deutsche Bank said on an conference call to its investors.
"We remain keen to settle this and other open matters with U.S. authorities. We must reduce litigation overhand by settling those matters, remains top priority. We need to restructure faster and higher intensity," Cryan told analysts and investors Thursday following the bank's better-than-expected third-quarter results.
Pointing to higher uncertainty in the global environment, Cryan said the outlook has worsened and the bank needs to restructure faster.
"The macro economic outlook has worsened in Europe and the negative interest rate outlook looks unlikely to change," Cryan said.
"We are acutely aware of these changes. We need to restructure and modernize the bank faster. We are taking steps now on additional cost saving and taking measures for better planning."
Cryan also said that the bank would like to resolve all major litigation items by mid-March but are not in control of the timetable.
The bank's chief financial officer, Marcus Schneck, further added that the bank was working hard on cutting costs, adding that the bank had brought compensations down, driven by smaller bonuses, and had reduced its operational costs.
On the much-speculated discussions with the U.S. Department of Justice, Schneck said "the discussions with DOJ are ongoing. DB is committed to come to a resolution at a reasonable amount as soon as possible. The time line depends on the DOJ, not in the hands of Deutsche Bank."
Deutsche Bank is fighting a $14 billion demand from the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) over the misselling of mortgage-backed securities in the run-up to the financial crisis.
The bank announced better-than-expected revenue and income for its third quarter on Thursday. The bank's third-quarter net income came in at 278 million euros ($303 million), which compares favorably to a 6 billion euro loss for the same period a year ago. The number also beat market expectations, as did revenues which came in at 7.49 billion euros ($8.17 billion). Deutsche Bank also set aside $6.4 billion for legal fees.