Shares in Germany's Deutsche Bank down sharply after lender announces large 4th-quarter loss

FRANKFURT, Germany — Shares of Deutsche Bank AG have fallen sharply after Germany's biggest lender announced a large fourth-quarter net loss, its results weighed down by one-time expenses and losses on investments it is disposing of to strengthen its finances.

Deutsche Bank shares were down 3.9 percent in early trading Monday at 37.81 euros ($51.36), making it the worst performer on Frankfurt's DAX index of blue chip stocks.

The bank on Sunday night posted a fourth-quarter net loss of 965 million euros ($1.3 billion), an announcement that came 10 days before it was scheduled to release its results. The figure was below analysts' expectations. Revenues during the fourth quarter were down 16 percent year-on-year at 6.6 billion euros.

Much of the decline in revenues came from the investment banking division, which suffered a steep fall in revenue from trading debt securities. The bank has also faced a steady drag on earnings from expenses for litigation and legal settlements resulting from investigation of alleged past abuses. That totaled 528 million euros in the fourth quarter. The bank also suffered 1.1 billion euros in losses on risky investments that it has set aside for disposal as it along with other banks faces regulatory pressure to strengthen its finances, a response to the financial turbulence of recent years.