Deutsche Bank chairman denies merger talks after turbulent year, claims turnaround already bearing fruit

Crisis-stricken Deutsche Bank is strong and is already benefiting from a turnaround plan, according to chairman Paul Achleitner.

The loss making German bank’s boss was quick to play down rumours that the bank needed state aid, or that a merger was on the cars in an interview published this morning.

Achleitner told German language newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung he would not step down, despite a tough year in which the company was forced to replace its chief executive and was hit by multiple money laundering probes.

“Let’s look at the facts: Deutsche Bank has a very strong capital basis compared to its competitors,” he told the paper. He added new chief executive Christian Sewing was balancing the books after the turbulent year.

The bank, however, has made losses for three straight years now, and has seen its share price halve in the wake of the investigations both in the US and in Europe.

Achleitner pushed back on suggestions the bank may need financial support from the state. “This scenario will not come about,” he said.

Sewing said in November he saw no“indication” of a possible merger, following speculation that Deutsche could be looking at a tie-up with German rival Commerzbank, or Switzerland’s UBS.

“We are on track to make our first profit for three years,” Sewing, the lender’s chief executive, told Bild am Sonntag. “It is only a matter of time before this progress is reflected in the share price.”

Deutsche’s shares hit record lows at the end of the year after, two days of police raids at its headquarters, linked to the so-called Panama Papers revelations over offshore financing.