Banks Deutsche Bank announces agreement on Postbank takeover
Germany's largest bank has reached an agreement with most of the plaintiffs in the costly legal dispute over the takeover of Postbank.
21.08.2024, 23:47
SDA
"As proposed by the bank, a settlement has been reached with more than 80 plaintiffs, who together account for almost 60 percent of all claims asserted, on the basis of a price of 31 euros per share," Deutsche Bank announced in Frankfurt am Main on Wednesday evening. The bank described the agreements as "significant progress". The largest single plaintiff in the complex of proceedings, which accounts for around one third of all claims asserted, is also involved in the settlement.
Bank expects positive effect
The bank assumes that the settlements reached will take up an average of around 45 percent of the provisions set aside for the claims of these parties. "The additional provisions for these plaintiffs can be reversed", the bank said. According to Deutsche Bank, it expects this to have "a positive effect on its pre-tax result in the third quarter of around 430 million euros". The press release also stated that should Deutsche Bank conclude settlement agreements with further plaintiffs, this could have a further positive impact on the total provisions formed for the complex of proceedings.
Takeover had expensive repercussions
In the legal dispute surrounding the takeover of Postbank in 2010, the Cologne Higher Regional Court indicated in an oral hearing at the end of April that the claims of former Postbank shareholders were at least partially justified. The plaintiffs argue that they should have been paid a higher price at the time. Due to the provisions for the legal dispute amounting to 1.3 billion euros, Deutsche Bank reported a loss in the second quarter of 2024 for the first time since 2020. The loss in the period from April to June amounted to 143 million euros. However, the first quarter had been the best for the bank in more than ten years.
