Media Release
July 24, 2025
Deutsche Bank more than doubles first half 2025 profit before tax to € 5.3 billion
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Charlie Olivier Deutsche Bank AG, Media Relations +44 (207) 54-57866 charlie.olivier@db.com
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Eduard Stipic Deutsche Bank AG Media Relations +49(69)910-41864 eduard.stipic@db.com
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Investor Relations +49 800 910-8000 (Frankfurt) db.ir@db.com
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Christian Streckert Deutsche Bank AG Media Relations +49(69)910-38079 christian.streckert@db.com
Profit before tax of € 5.3 billion, up from € 2.4 billion in the first half of 2024
First-half key ratios in line with full year 2025 targets
Revenue growth supports 2025 revenue ambition
Costs in line with 2025 guidance with significant reduction in nonoperating costs
Strong capital generation supports growth and distributions to shareholders
Second-quarter 2025 profit before tax of € 2.4 billion, up 34% year on year excluding Postbank litigation impact, with net profit of € 1.7 billion
Deutsche Bank (XETRA: DBGn.DB / NYSE: DB) today announced profit before tax of € 5.3 billion for the first half of 2025, more than double the first half of 2024. his profit growth partly reflected the non-recurrence of a litigation provision of €1.3 billion in the second quarter of 2024 relating to the bank’s takeover of Postbank AG, compared to a provision release of € 85 million in the second quarter of 2025 due to additional settlements. This development contributed to a 15% year-on-year decline in noninterest expenses to € 10.2 billion. Excluding the aforementioned Postbank-related litigation impacts, first-half profit before tax grew 37% year on year. This was driven by 6% revenue growth to € 16.3 billion, while adjusted costs1 remained flat year on year at € 10.1 billion. Both revenues and costs remained in line with the bank’s full-year 2025 goals.
Deutsche Bank’s target ratios also improved significantly compared to the first half of 2024, in line with the bank’s 2025 targets. Post-tax return on average tangible shareholders’ equity (RoTE)1 was 11.0% for the first half of 2025, up from 3.9% in the first half of 2024 and in line with the bank’s 2025 target of above 10%. Post-tax return on average shareholders’ equity (RoE)1 was 9.9%, up from 3.5% in the prior year period. The cost/income ratio improved to 62.3%, from 78.1% in the prior year period and remained in line with the bank’s full-year 2025 target of below 65%. Diluted earnings per share rose to € 1.46, up more than threefold compared to € 0.42 in the prior year period.
Double-digit profit growth across all four businesses
Deutsche Bank’s businesses contributed to Group profitability and target ratios as follows:
In the second quarter, profit before tax was € 2.4 billion, up from € 411 million in the second quarter of 2024. This development included the aforementioned non-recurrence of the Postbank litigation impact in the prior year quarter. Excluding the Postbank litigation provision in the prior year quarter, and the provision release in the second quarter of 2025, second-quarter profit before tax was up 34% year on year. Net revenues were up 3% year on year at € 7.8 billion. Noninterest expenses, which include litigation provisions, were down 26%, while adjusted costs were in line with guidance at € 5.0 billion, down 1% year on year. Provision for credit losses was down 11% year on year at € 423 million, or 36 basis points of average loans. Both of the bank’s key ratios were in line with 2025 targets, with a post-tax RoTE1 of 10.1% on RoE of 9.1%, and a cost/income ratio of 63.6%.
James von Moltke, Chief Financial Officer, added: “Deutsche Bank again proved its resilience and agility this quarter in a volatile environment. Our client businesses continued to grow revenues despite headwinds while we achieved incremental operational and capital efficiencies. Our organic capital generation is strong, and our distribution strategy is not impacted by future changes expected from the implementation of the Capital Requirements Regulation 3 (CRR3).”
Continued delivery of the Global Hausbank strategy
Deutsche Bank continued to accelerate execution on all dimensions of its Global Hausbank strategy during the first half of 2025. Progress included:
Revenues: 6% year on year growth puts revenues in line with 2025 goals
Net revenues were € 16.3 billion in the first half of 2025, up 6% over the first half of 2024 and in line with the bank’s full-year 2025 revenue ambition of around € 32 billion. In the second quarter, revenues rose 3% year on year to € 7.8 billion, despite headwinds from FX movements.
In the second quarter and first six months of 2025, revenue development in the bank’s businesses was as follows:
Costs in line with full-year 2025 outlook as nonoperating costs normalize
Noninterest expenses were € 10.2 billion in the first half of 2025, down 15% from the prior year period and in line with the bank’s full-year 2025 outlook of approximately € 20.8 billion. The year-on-year development included a substantial reduction in nonoperating costs as expected, primarily reflecting the non-recurrence of the aforementioned Postbank-related litigation provision in the prior year period.
Nonoperating costs were € 49 million in the first half of 2025 compared to € 1.9 billion in the prior year period which included € 1.3 billion in Postbank litigation expenses. Nonoperating costs in the first half of 2025 benefited additionally from the release of litigation provision due to further Postbank-related and other settlements. Restructuring & Severance expenses were € 117 million in the first half of 2025, down 42% year on year.
Adjusted costs1 were € 10.1 billion in the first half of 2025, flat year on year and in line with guidance. The workforce was 89,426 full-time equivalents (FTEs) at the end of the period, materially unchanged from the end of the first half of 2024 as leavers, partly relating to the bank’s operational efficiency program, more than offset strategic hiring and internalizations during the first half year.
In the second quarter, noninterest expenses were € 5.0 billion, down 26% year on year, predominantly reflecting the non-recurrence of the aforementioned Postbank litigation impact in the prior year quarter. In the second quarter of 2025, the release of Postbank-related and other litigation provisions due to settlements achieved exceeded other nonoperating costs by € 44 million. Adjusted costs were € 5.0 billion, in line with quarterly guidance and down 1% year on year.
Credit provisions reflect macroeconomic uncertainties
Provision for credit losses was € 423 million in the second quarter, or 36 bps of average loans, down 10% compared to the first quarter of 2025 and 11% from the second quarter of 2024. Provision for non-performing (Stage 3) loans was € 300 million, materially lower than in the previous and prior year quarters, primarily reflecting a model update in line with EBA requirements. Provision for performing loans (Stage 1 and 2) was € 123 million, down from € 130 million in the first quarter of 2025 and materially higher than in the prior year quarter. This reflected
regulatory-driven model updates which primarily impacted commercial real estate, along with portfolio effects and updated macro-economic assumptions.
In the first six months, provision for credit losses was € 894 million, or 37 bps of average loans, down 2% year on year. Provision for non-performing (Stage 3) loans was € 641 million, down 30% from the prior year period, while provision for performing (Stage 1 and 2) loans was € 253 million, materially higher than in the first half of 2024, reflecting the aforementioned factors.
Solid capital ratio supports distributions to shareholders and business growth
The Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio was 14.2% at the end of the second quarter, up from 13.8% in the first quarter of 2025. The quarter-on-quarter development reflected strong organic capital generation through retained earnings which more than offset deductions for Additional Tier 1 (AT1) coupon payments and dividends.
At its Annual General Meeting on May 22, 2025, Deutsche Bank announced its intention to maintain a CET1 ratio within an operating range of 13.5% to 14.0% while adhering to its commitment to a 50% payout ratio. The bank has completed the majority of its current € 750 million share repurchase program and has sought supervisory approval for a second share repurchase program in 2025. This would, if approved, enable capital distributions in excess of the € 2.1 billion completed or anticipated in 2025 from dividends and share repurchases under the current program.
Deutsche Bank anticipates no change to its capital distribution strategy or financial targets from the ultimate implementation of Capital Requirements Regulation 3 (CRR3). The bank expects to materially reduce or eliminate the hypothetical future impact on RWAs from the output floor through a combination of low-cost mitigation measures, mitigants arising from the full application of already-final CRR3 rules, and shareholder value add (SVA) based optimization, by 2030. Assuming no extension of Transitional Arrangements from December 2032, the bank expects additional mitigation through increasing external rating coverage of currently unrated corporate clients, balance sheet optimization, and further SVA-driven activities by 2033.
The Leverage ratio was 4.7% at the end of the second quarter, up from 4.6% in the first quarter, reflecting the positive impact of capital generation and FX movements. Leverage exposure was € 1,276 billion, compared to € 1,302 billion in the first quarter of 2025 and € 1,262 billion at the end of the first half of 2024.
The Liquidity Coverage Ratio was 136% at the end of the second quarter, up from 134% at the end of the first quarter, above the regulatory requirement of 100% and representing a surplus of € 62 billion. High Quality Liquid Assets were € 232 billion at the end of the quarter, slightly higher than € 231 billion at the end of the first quarter. The Net Stable Funding Ratio was 120%, compared to 119% at the end of the first quarter, at the high end of the bank’s target range of 115-120% and representing a surplus of € 107 billion.
Customer deposits were € 653 billion in the second quarter, down from € 665 billion in the first quarter, partly reflecting FX headwinds, and up from € 641 billion in the second quarter of 2024.
Sustainable Finance: volumes2 reach € 417 billion since 2020
Sustainable Financing and ESG investment volumes ex-DWS2 were € 28 billion in the quarter, the highest in the bank’s businesses since 2021, bringing the cumulative total since January 1, 2020 to € 417 billion, up from € 389 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2025.
In the second quarter of 2025, Deutsche Bank’s businesses contributed as follows:
During the second quarter of 2025, notable transactions included:
During the quarter, Deutsche Bank published its updated Human Rights Statement, the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (SCDDA) Policy Statement as well as the 2024 Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement. The bank also received the certificate of ‘berufundfamilie +vielfalt’ in Germany for being a family-friendly and inclusive employer. Deutsche Bank held a workshop with rainforest nations’ representatives on the development of carbon credits at the UN Climate Conference in Bonn (SB 61) and sponsored CDP’s annual DACH disclosure workshop in Frankfurt.
1 For a description of this and other non-GAAP financial measures, see ‘Use of non-GAAP financial measures’ on pp 15-21 of the second quarter 2025 Financial Data Supplement and “Non-GAAP financial measures” on pp. 102-107 of the Interim Report, as of June 30, 2025, respectively
2 The Corporate Bank, the Investment Bank, the Private Bank and Asset Management
3At period-end
ESG Classification
Deutsche Bank defined the bank’s sustainable financing and ESG investment activities in the “Sustainable Financing Framework” and “Deutsche Bank ESG Investments Framework” which are available at investor-relations.db.com. Given the cumulative definition of the bank’s target, in cases where validation against the Framework cannot be completed before the end of the reporting quarter, volumes are reported upon completion of the validation in subsequent quarters. In Asset Management, for details on ESG productclassification of DWS, please refer to the section “Our Responsibility – Sustainable Action – Our Product Suite” in DWS Annual Report 2024.
Further details on second quarter performance in Deutsche Bank’s businesses are available in the Interim Report of June 30, 2025.
Analyst call
An analyst call to discuss second-quarter 2025 financial results will take place at 11:00 CEST today. An Interim Report, Financial Data Supplement (FDS), presentation and audio webcast for the analyst conference call are available at: www.db.com/quarterly-results
A fixed income investor call will take place on July 25, 2025, at 15:00 CEST. This conference call will be transmitted via internet: www.db.com/quarterly-results
About Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank provides retail and private banking, corporate and transaction banking, lending, asset and wealth management products and services as well as focused investment banking to private individuals, small and medium-sized companies, corporations, governments and institutional investors. Deutsche Bank is the leading bank in Germany with strong European roots and a global network.
Forward-looking statements
This release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they include statements about the bank’s beliefs and expectations and the assumptions underlying them. These statements are based on plans, estimates and projections as they are currently available to the management of Deutsche Bank. Forward-looking statements therefore speak only as of the date they are made, and the bank undertakes no obligation to update publicly any of them in the light of new information or future events.
By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could therefore cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.
Such factors include the conditions in the financial markets in Germany, in Europe, in the United States and elsewhere from which Deutsche Bank derive a substantial portion of the bank’s revenues and in which the bank holds a substantial portion of its assets, the development of asset prices and market volatility, potential defaults of borrowers or trading counterparties, the implementation of the bank’s strategic initiatives, the reliability of the bank’s risk management policies, procedures and methods, and other risks referenced in the bank’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Such factors are described in detail in the bank’s SEC Form 20-F of March 13, 2025, under the heading “Risk Factors”. Copies of this document are readily available upon request or can be downloaded from www.db.com/ir.
Basis of Accounting
Results are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) and endorsed by the European Union (“EU”), including, from 2020, application of portfolio fair value hedge accounting for non-maturing deposits and fixed rate mortgages with pre-payment options (the “EU carve-out”). Fair value hedge accounting under the EU carveout is employed to minimize the accounting exposure to both positive and negative moves in interest rates in
each tenor bucket thereby reducing the volatility of reported revenue from Treasury activities.
For the three-month period ended June 30, 2025, the application of the EU carve-out had a negative impact of € 535 million on profit before taxes and of € 383 million on profit. For the same time period in 2024, the application of the EU carve-out had a positive impact of € 280 million on profit before taxes and of € 198 million on profit. For the six-month period ended June 30, 2025, application of the EU carve-out had a negative impact of € 144 million on profit before taxes and of € 103 million on profit. For the same time period in 2024, the application of the EU carve-out had a positive impact of € 683 million on profit before taxes and of € 485 million on profit. The Group’s regulatory capital and ratios thereof are also reported on the basis of the EU carve-out version of IAS 39. As of June 30, 2025, the application of the EU carve-out had a negative impact on the CET1 capital ratio of about 75 basis points compared to a negative impact of about 26 basis
points as of June 30, 2024. In any given period, the net effect of the EU carve-out can be positive or negative, depending on the fair market value changes in the positions being hedged and the hedging instruments.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This report and other documents the bank has published or may publish contain non-GAAP financial measures. Non-GAAP financial measures are measures of the bank’s historical or future performance, financial position or cash flows that contain adjustments that exclude or include amounts that are included or excluded, as the case may be, from the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in
accordance with IFRS in the bank’s financial statements. Examples of the bank’s non-GAAP financial measures, and the most directly comparable IFRS financial measures, are as follows:
Revenues and costs on a currency-adjusted basis are calculated by translating prior period revenues that were generated or incurred in non-euro currencies into euros at the foreign exchange rates that prevailed during the current period. These adjusted figures, and period-to-period percentage changes based thereon, are intended to provide information on the development of underlying business volumes.
Adjusted costs are calculated by deducting (i) impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets, (ii) net litigation charges and (iii) restructuring and severance, in total referred to as nonoperating costs, from noninterest expenses under IFRS.
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