A mix of forces propelled the private bank sharply into profit for the first three months of this year, recovering from the tough early months of 2020 when the global pandemic broke out.

Deutsche Bank yesterday reported that its private bank’s profits surged by 92 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter 2021 to €274 million ($331.4 million).

Private bank net revenues were flat on a year ago at €2.2 billion. Continued deposit margin compression from interest rate headwinds was mitigated by continued business growth, with record net new business volumes of €15 billion in the quarter, the Frankfurt-listed bank, which operates in a number of regions, said. The net new business volume figure includes net inflows of investment products of €9 billion and net new client loans of €4 billion. 

In the private bank in Germany revenues rose by 1 per cent, while in the international private bank, revenues slipped by 1 per cent on a year before.

Assets under management rose by €26 billion to €519 billion during the quarter, exceeding half a trillion euros for the first time since 2017, reflecting net inflows in investment products and positive effects from market performance and currency translation.

Across the whole Deutsche Bank group, its provision for credit losses collapsed by 86 per cent, down from €506 million in the first quarter of 2020. Provisions for non-performing loans fell by 40 per cent versus the prior-year quarter. Profit attributable to shareholders rose to €908 million, bouncing back from a comparable loss of €43 million a year before.

Total revenues were €7.233 billion in Q1 2021, up from €3.5 billion.

The lender had a 13.7 per cent Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 13.7 per cent at the end of March.

Total headcount shrank - there were 84,389 full-time equivalent staff in Q1, down from 86,667 in the first quarter of 2020.