BERLIN (Reuters) – The chief executive of Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> does not expect German banks will need to be bailed out because of the coronavirus pandemic like they were during the financial crisis, he said on television on Wednesday.
“We are really dealing with stable banks in Germany,” said Christian Sewing, the German lender’s chief executive, noting how banks’ balance sheets had been reduced and equity capital increased since the financial crisis in 2008/2009.
“We have more than 200 billion (euros) free liquidity reserves, that’s more than 20% of our total balance sheet, and that means for us, too, that we have to be part of the solution now, especially at this time,” Sewing said on Germany’s ARD TV.
Earlier on Wednesday, Deutsche Bank swung to a loss in the first quarter and the outlook for the full year darkened, underlining the impact of a costly overhaul and pressure on revenue as the coronavirus crisis devastates the global economy.
Sewing said government stimulus measures, as well as the support of the banks, should limit the fall in economic growth to between 6% and 8%.
“That’s severe, but still manageable.”
(Reporting by Scot Stevenson; Writing by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Peter Cooney)
