Deutsche Bank’s deal-making business weaker than expected, CEO says

[FRANKFURT] Deutsche Bank’s origination and advisory business is not as strong as the German bank had expected, with companies postponing decisions due to the US’ tariff policies, the bank’s chief executive officer Christian Sewing said on Thursday (Jun 12).

He said at a financial conference that the deal-making business would be weaker in the second quarter than executives had planned for at the start of 2025.

“Will it be weaker than we initially thought? Yes. But, to be honest, we talk about a lot of delayed, but not cancelled, deals,” he said.

Deal-making has slowed this year as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on trading partners fanned turmoil in markets and sparked concerns about slowing economic growth. Other big banks, including Bank of America, have also warned of a slowdown in the business.

For Deutsche, the so-called origination and advisory revenue, after making big gains in recent quarters, fell by 8 per cent in the first quarter.

Sewing said that revenue in the investment bank’s much larger fixed-income and currency business will be up in the second quarter, compared with the previous year.

He said he was optimistic about Deutsche’s other business lines, such as its corporate and retail banks, and that the bank was sticking to its targets.

This is a crucial year for Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest lender, as it faces a deadline to meet ambitious goals on costs and profitability.

Asked about the prospect of mergers and acquisitions as banks in Italy and Spain weigh consolidation, Sewing replied that Deutsche “can grow organically”.

“I’m not looking so much at consolidation for Deutsche Bank,” he said. REUTERS