Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest bank which has a significant presence in the Americas, said today that its Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management arm enjoyed one of its strongest-ever performances, logging pre-tax income of €283 million ($390.2 billion) in the third quarter of 2013, a 151 per cent year-on-year increase attributable to a 12 per cent decline in non-interest expenses.

In the third quarter, the cost/income ratio at this business division fell sharply to 78 per cent in Q3 compared with 90 per cent in the same three months of 2012.

Net revenues were €1.264 billion, a 29 per cent year-on-year rise, the Frankfurt-listed firm said in a statement today.

Invested assets fell by €9 billion to €934 billion, primarily due to foreign exchange rate movements and outflows of low margin assets, partially offset by positive market effects, Deutsche Bank said.

The generally strong performance of the wealth management business stands in sharp contrast to Deutsche Bank as a whole; it reported pre-tax group income of €18 million, a figure including €1.2 billion of litigation-related charges. Core bank pre-tax income was €1.2 billion. Net income slumped from €1.127 billion a year ago; the cost-income ratio of the entire business rose to 93 per cent in the quarter, a rise from 81 per cent a year ago.

Among further details of the wealth and asset management business, Deutsche Bank said net revenues from advisory/brokerage services fell by €16 million, or 8 per cent, suffering from lower client activity in the current quarter. Net revenues from credit products decreased by €10 million, or 9 per cent, which was more than offset by an increase in revenues from deposits and payment services of €16 million, or 32 per cent compared to the same period 2012.

“In the third quarter we met several challenges. We took substantial litigation charges and saw reduced profits in investment banking, leading to a lower quarterly result. Notwithstanding this, we made progress in key areas. In this quarter alone, we achieved approximately 15 per cent of our 2015 balance sheet reduction target of €250 billion,” said Jürgen Fitschen and Anshu Jain, co-chairmen of the management board.

“Our Operational Excellence Program remained on track in delivering cost savings and we sustained investments in our control functions. In addition, Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management produced one of its strongest ever quarters,” they said.

Within the private and business clients segment, Deutsche Bank reported pre-tax income of €347 million, reflecting what it says is a seasonal slowdown and the non-recurrence of several non operating items.