Deutsche Postbank moves into profit
BONN-based retail lender Deutsche Postbank unveiled a dramatic recovery in its third-quarter results yesterday, with pre-tax profit moving from a €29m (£24.5m) loss to a €71m gain. The bank is 41 per cent owned by Deutsche Bank.
Nine-month earnings per share were up 25 per cent to €1 and the bank posted an improved tier one capital ratio of eight per cent versus 7.3 per cent at the half-year mark. The bank put this down to the disposal of risk-weighted assets and a currency effect.
Like most European retail banks, Deutsche Postbank is gradually wearing down its loan loss provisions: they dropped from €142m last year to €134m in the third quarter of this year, despite having risen in the second quarter to €175m.