FRANKFURT, Germany – Deutsche Bank said Thursday that net income for the third quarter more than doubled as the bank cuts costs, and works past fines and settlements stemming from past misconduct.
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Net income hose risen to 649 million euros ($766 million) from 278 million a year ago, the bank said.
Earnings have improved despite a 10-percent decline in revenues to 6.8 billion euros. The bank saw less income because of low interest rates, which squeezes lending margins, and as calmer financial markets led clients to trade less. The previous year’s quarter saw more market fluctuations in the wake of Britain’s referendum vote to leave the European Union.
The bank said it shed 4,000 employees and saw lower severance and restructuring costs.
Legal expenses fell to 140 million euros from 501 million euros. Chief financial officer James von Moltke told journalists that the bank had resolved 13 of 20 outstanding financial risks, but that settlement amounts were hard to predict and could rise in months ahead. The bank has paid out billions for regulatory and legal violations including a $7.2 billion settlement with U.S. authorities over sales of mortgage-based bonds.
The bank also said it would merge its Deutsche Bank and Deutsche Postbank retail operations into a single unit by the second quarter of 2018. The combination would have 20 million customers and bring annual savings of 900 million euros from 2022.
