Deutsche Bank Profit Jumps 6.4%

Deutsche Bank DB, Germany's largest bank, said its second-quarter profit rose 6.4% to $1.51 billion as profit increases in its retail banking operation helped counter slumps in its sales and trading operations. Deutsche Bank saw declines of 15% in its sales and trading unit, a drop that was in line with those posted by rivals. The so-called stable businesses of global transaction banking, consumer banking and asset and wealth management posted their highest combined pretax profit in two years, according to Bloomberg News. One analyst said he expects Deutsche Bank to outperfom its rivals going forward on the back of improving earnings. Investment banking profits at the bank fell 5.3% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank holds 3.2 billion Euros in Italian sovereign debt, 500 million Euros in Greek sovereign debt and 200 million Euros in Irish sovereign debt, but has no such exposure to Portugal and Spain. Despite Deutsche's exposure to some of the Eurozone's riskier economies, the bank did pass Europe's stress test on financial institutions.