REUTERS
Deutsche Bank has warned that volatile financial markets in the first quarter, normally a strong season for banks, posed a challenge for the entire sector, Reuters reported.
"Deutsche Bank is no exception to this. Nonetheless, in this period of market turbulence, Deutsche Bank remains very solid," Chief Executive John Cryan said in the lender's annual report published on Friday, according to Reuters.
Deutsche Bank's comments chime with those of other investment banks, which have cautioned investors to expect lower results for the first three months as customers issued less debt and equity on fears about the state of the global economy.
Citigroup earlier this week said that its first-quarter investment banking revenue is off by 25% compared with the strong year-earlier period, as both trading and new issuance have been impacted by the market rout.
JPMorgan last month signaled a rough first quarter with double-digit declines in investment banking revenues as companies are either shying away from or unable to issue debt and equity and investors are reluctant to take on more risk, according to the report.
After posting a record loss for 2015 Cryan in late January urged investors to be patient with his revamp of Germany's largest lender.
Despite vows to bring down costs, Deutsche Bank's total compensation for employees increased 5% to EUR 10.5 billion ($11.7 billion) in 2015 as the number of employees rose by 3,000 to 101,104, according to the report.
The lender said it hired specialists for compliance, legal, and audit functions as well as in areas it has identified as growth businesses.