Deutsche makes biggest annual profit in a decade

Deutsche Bank celebrated its most profitable year in a decade on Thursday (January 27).

It came off the back of a dealmaking boom and a turnaround in its investment arm.

The lender's success came as a surprise to analysts.

It had been forecast to make a loss in the fourth quarter, but the period was instead its sixth straight quarter in the black.

Deutsche's investment bank has turned from its sore spot into its most important revenue generator.

It has profited from a trading boom during the health crisis and a wave of dealmaking.

The update also marks a turnaround for the German bank after years of losses, and it's good news for CEO Christian Sewing.

He took on the job in 2018 with the aim of turning Deutsche around after a series of embarrassing and costly regulatory failings.

For the year, Deutsche made a profit of almost $2.2 billion - way up from about $126 million a year before.

Sewing confirmed the bank was on track to achieve a key profitability target this year.

But analysts at Citigroup weren't convinced.

They called Deutsche's targets 'overly optimistic', and said that nothing in Q4 had changed that view.

Deutsche shares rose around 4% in early trade, and are now up about a third over the past year.