Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Q4 Earnings Call Highlights

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (NYSE:DB) executives said the lender met all of its 2025 targets and entered 2026 with what they described as solid business momentum, while also announcing increased shareholder distributions and outlining its next phase of strategy focused on “scaling the Global House Bank.”

2025 targets met, record profit and higher distributions

Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing said the bank delivered revenues of EUR 32 billion in 2025, representing 7% growth versus the prior year and compound annual growth of 6% since 2021. He highlighted EUR 2.5 billion of operational efficiencies and a cost-income ratio of 64%, in line with the bank’s target of below 65%.

Sewing said 2025 produced record profitability, including pre-tax profit of EUR 9.7 billion and net profit of EUR 7.1 billion, with post-tax return on tangible equity of 10.3%, meeting the bank’s goal of above 10% for the year.

Shareholder distributions for 2025 were outlined as a proposed EUR 1 dividend per share and an authorized EUR 1 billion share buyback, totaling EUR 2.9 billion and aligning with a 50% payout commitment. Sewing said cumulative distributions for 2021 to 2025 would reach EUR 8.5 billion, above the bank’s original EUR 8 billion target.

Capital, liquidity, and credit quality

Chief Financial Officer James von Moltke said the bank ended 2025 with a Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 14.2%, even after capital headwinds in the fourth quarter. He noted that the EUR 2.9 billion planned for dividends and buybacks is already deducted from CET1 capital, positioning the 14.2% ratio as “an excellent starting point going into 2026.”

Liquidity metrics were described as robust, with a liquidity coverage ratio of 144% and a net stable funding ratio of 119%.

On asset quality, the bank reported provisions for credit losses of EUR 1.7 billion for 2025, 7% lower than 2024. Von Moltke said elevated uncertainty and ongoing commercial real estate headwinds persisted, but the bank expects credit loss provisions to “trend moderately downwards in 2026 relative to 2025,” with a longer-term aim of moving toward an expected average run rate of around 30 basis points through 2028.

Business performance highlights by division

• Corporate Bank: Von Moltke said the unit delivered a 15.3% post-tax RoTE and a 62% cost-income ratio for 2025. Fourth-quarter revenues were stable sequentially, with a EUR 25 billion deposit increase in the quarter and loan growth of EUR 2 billion sequentially (and EUR 7 billion year-over-year, adjusted for FX). The bank expects a modest increase in Corporate Bank revenues in 2026, with year-over-year comparisons in the first half affected by interest rate and FX headwinds and more pronounced growth expected in the second half.
• Investment Bank: Fourth-quarter revenues rose 5% year-over-year, driven by strength in Fixed Income and Currencies (FIC), where revenues increased 6% and management called it the strongest fourth quarter on record for the business. IBCM revenues were slightly lower in the quarter due to advisory comparisons, while the full-year IBCM decline of 6% was attributed to mark-to-market losses on LDCM exposures earlier in the year (management said it would have been essentially flat excluding those losses). Executives said the IBCM pipeline entering the first quarter was the strongest at that point in several years.
• Private Bank: Management said strategy execution delivered 14% operating leverage and a 10.5% post-tax RoTE for 2025. Quarterly revenues were EUR 2.4 billion, including net interest income growth of 10% year-over-year. The bank said net commission and fee income was essentially flat, as growth in discretionary portfolio mandates was offset by lower cards and payments income. The unit closed 126 branches in 2025 and reduced headcount by nearly 1,600, with further net reductions expected in 2026. Net inflows into assets under management were EUR 27 billion for the year.
• Asset Management (DWS): Von Moltke said assets under management surpassed EUR 1 trillion in 2025, reaching EUR 1.08 trillion in the quarter, supported by positive market impact and EUR 10 billion of quarterly net inflows. The asset management segment’s profit before tax rose 73% year-over-year in the quarter, with revenues up 25% and a quarterly cost-income ratio of 55%. Executives referenced DWS’s own disclosure that it upgraded its ambitions for 2028, including a higher EPS growth target and a cost-income ratio target below 55% for 2027.

2026 outlook: revenue growth, higher expenses, and larger payout

Looking ahead, von Moltke said the bank expects 2026 full-year revenues to rise to around EUR 33 billion. He also guided to banking book net interest income across key segments and other funding of around EUR 14 billion in 2026, up from EUR 13.3 billion in 2025, with the largest contributor expected to be structural hedge rollover (with around 90% locked in through swaps), as well as targeted growth in deposits and loans.

Non-interest expenses are expected to rise to “slightly above” EUR 21 billion in 2026, including about EUR 900 million of incremental investments. Incoming CFO Raja Akram said the bank remains committed to achieving positive operating leverage starting in 2026, while also emphasizing a multiyear program that includes both investments and operating efficiencies.

Executives also reiterated plans to increase the payout ratio to 60% starting in 2026, with “modest but continuous” dividend per share growth complemented by share buybacks. Management said it intends to pursue an additional buyback in the second half of 2026, subject to authorizations, with discussions framed around both in-year earnings and potential excess capital over time.

Leadership transition and regulatory/other updates

Sewing and von Moltke marked the call as von Moltke’s final quarterly presentation ahead of the CFO transition to Raja Akram. Sewing credited von Moltke with helping strengthen discipline and credibility during the bank’s transformation.

During Q&A, executives confirmed that Frankfurt prosecutors visited the bank’s offices seeking information related to transactions from 2013 to 2018 and alleged delayed suspicious activity reporting. Management said it is cooperating with the investigation and does not anticipate an impact on financial or strategic plans.

About Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (NYSE:DB)

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. Founded in 1870 to support German foreign trade, the firm has grown into a full-service bank offering a wide range of banking, advisory and transaction services to corporate, institutional, and private clients. Over its history the bank has expanded internationally and developed capabilities across capital markets, investment banking, retail and commercial banking, and wealth management.

The bank’s core business activities include corporate and investment banking—covering financing, advisory, sales and trading, and capital markets services—along with private & commercial banking for individual and small-to-medium enterprise clients.