BUSINESS Deutsche Bank wobbles scare market

Stock tumbles amid uncertainty regarding massive fine levied by US

BERLIN: Worries over the financial stability of Deutsche Bank returned to the fore, sending shares in Germany’s biggest bank to a record low.

Reports that hedge funds are moving their business out of the bank were the catalyst to the latest sell-off.

In frenzied early trading, the bank’s stock fell another 8 percent to below € 10 a share for the first time, before recovering somewhat to trade 6 percent lower at € 10.20.

Deutsche Bank has been a growing concern for investors in the past two weeks, since authorities in the US said they are seeking $ 14 billion (R193bn) from the bank to settle legal claims over its sales of mortgage securities in the run-up to the global financial crisis in 2008.

With the German government giving no sign it would be prepared to offer a bailout, and the bank heavily exposed to risky investments, notably in the derivatives markets, investors have grown increasingly jittery.

That worry was relieved only temporarily by Deutsche Bank’s move this week to sell an insurance subsidiary for just over € 1bn in an effort to shore up its capital buffers.

The latest unease over Deutsche Bank stemmed from a report by Bloomberg that about 10 hedge funds had taken measure to reduce their exposure to the bank.

“Under any normal situation this probably wouldn’t be worthy of mention, but in banking perception is everything, and in times of stress investors tend to shoot first and ask questions later and when confidence starts to leak away the ensuing drip can very quickly turn into a waterfall,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

The wider worry, which has sent stock markets across Europe sharply lower yesterday is that Deutsche Bank may prove to be a “Lehman moment” for the European banking system.

In September 2008, the US government made clear it was not going to bail out investment bank Lehman Brothers when it was in huge difficulty. Because Lehman was connected to many other banks, the decision to let it fall triggered a collapse of confidence in the global financial system that pushed the world economy into its deepest recession since World War II.

“German chancellor Angela Merkel says there will be no state bailout, but this might be a case of ‘famous last words’, as the history of banking crises often shows that major banks cannot be allowed to fail for fear of systemic risk affecting the financial system and negatively impacting the real economy,” said Neil MacKinnon, global macro strategist at VTB Capital.

That’s why many experts expect some sort of deal to help the bank, should it be needed. That may see bondholders take a hit or a possible merger of the bank with Commerzbank, which has its own financial problems.

The German government is also expected to pressure US authorities to reduce the fine, as it would be in no one’s interest for one of the world’s most systemically important banks to go under.

One major difference to 2008 is that the European Central Bank has a range of tools to shore up liquidity in banks under its jurisdiction, the 19 countries that use the euro.

As a result, Deutsche Bank should be able to avoid a funding squeeze and a potential run on deposits.

MacKinnon says that’s not enough, though, and that the European banking sector is likely to remain under stress given the absence of muchneeded efforts to restructure and raise money. – ANA-AP