Net revenues at AWM were €1.4bn (£1.1bn, $1.5bn) for the fourth quarter ending 31 December 2015, up from €1.2bn during the same quarter last year. For the full year Deutsche AWM achieved net revenue growth of 15%.
Exchange rates weighed on the division’s results, which recorded a 30% increase in noninterest expenses to €1.1bn in Q4 2015.
The division, however, reduced costs by €83m following a partial reversal of intangible write-downs related to Scudder, the mutual fund that Deutsche acquired from Zurich in 2002.
Outflow
Invested assets were €1.1trn at the end of Q4 2015, up 8% from a year ago. However, after seven consecutive quarters of net new asset inflows, Deutsche AWM recorded an outflow of €4bn in Q4 2015. This compares with net inflows of €10bn during the same quarter in 2014.
The Group
As a group, Deutsche Bank achieved net revenues of €6.6bn in Q4 2015, down by 15.2% from €7.8bn in Q4 2014. On an annual basis, however, net revenues rose by 4.9% to €33.5bn in 2015.
The group primarily attributed the Q4 decrease to revenue declines in the Corporate Banking & Securities (CBS) division.
After achieving net income of €441m in Q4 2014, Deutsche Bank Group reported a net loss of €2.1bn in Q4 2015. Similarly, on an annual basis the group reported a net loss of €6.8bn, after posting a net income of €1.7bn in 2014.
Challenges ahead
John Cryan, co-chief executive of Deutsche Bank, said: “In 2015 we made considerable progress on the implementation of our strategy. The much needed decisions we took in the second half of the year contributed to a net loss for the fourth quarter and full year.
“We are focused on 2016 and continue to work hard to clear up our legacy issues. Restructuring work and investment in our platform will continue throughout the year.
“We know that periods of restructuring can be challenging. However, I am confident that by continuing to implement our strategy in a disciplined manner, we can and will transfer Deutsche Bank into a strong, more efficient and better run institution,” Cryan said.
