Deutsche Bank DB reported first-quarter 2025 earnings attributable to its shareholders of €1.78 billion ($2.01 billion), up 39.2% year over year.

This Germany-based lender reported a profit before tax of €2.8 billion ($3.2 billion), up 39.3% year over year. The reported figure included €30 million ($34.1 million) of litigation items.
 
Results were aided by a rise in revenues and lower expenses. However, higher provision for credit losses was a spoilsport.

Deutsche Bank’s Revenues & Expenses

The bank generated net revenues of €8.5 billion ($9.7 billion), up 9.6% year over year. This upside was primarily driven by strong growth in net interest income and net commissions and fee income.

Non-interest expenses of €5.2 billion ($5.9 billion) declined 1.7% from the prior-year quarter. The decline was primarily due to lower general and administrative expenses.

Adjusted non-interest expenses (excluding nonoperating items) were €5.1 billion, up 1.6% from the prior year quarter.

Provision for credit losses was €471 million ($535.8 million), up 7.3% from the prior-year quarter.

DB’s Segmental Performance

Corporate Bank: Net revenues from the segment were €1.9 billion ($2.1 billion), down marginally year over year. The results were hurt by lower net interest income and a decrease in Business Banking revenues.

Investment Bank: This segment’s net revenues totaled €3.4 billion ($3.8 billion), up 10.3% year over year. The upside was primarily driven by growth across Fixed Income and Currencies, and Equity Origination & Advisory.

Private Bank: Net revenues of €2.4 billion ($2.8 billion) were up 2.7% year over year.

Asset Management: Net revenues of €730 million ($830.4 million) rose 18.3% year over year. An increase in performance and transaction fees led to the rise.

Corporate & Other: The segment reported net revenues of €127 million ($144.5 million) against negative $139 million in the prior-year quarter.

Deutsche Bank’s Capital Position

DB’s Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio was 13.8% as of March 31, 2025, up from the year-ago quarter’s 13.4%.

The leverage ratio on a fully loaded basis was 4.6%, up from the year-ago quarter's 4.5%.

Our Viewpoint on Deutsche Bank

A strong balance sheet position and a shift toward a capital-light business model will likely support Deutsche Bank's financials. Also, the company’s strong capital position aids sustainable capital distribution moves. However, an elevated expense base is likely to hurt its bottom-line growth.

The company currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Performance of Another Foreign Bank

ICICI Bank Ltd.’s IBN net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 (ended March 31) was INR126.3 billion ($1.5 billion), up 18% from the prior-year quarter. (Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.)

IBN’s results were driven by a rise in NII, non-interest income and growth in loans and deposits. However, higher operating expenses and provisions were the headwinds.

An Upcoming Foreign Bank Earnings Release

UBS Group AG UBS is scheduled to release first-quarter 2025 earnings on April 30.
 
UBS’ quarterly earnings estimates have remained unchanged at 42 cents over the past week.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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