As the working week came to an end in Frankfurt, it seemed Deutsche Bank AG’s Christian Sewing was on a roll. Thursday’s first-quarter earnings and an improving outlook for buybacks had sent the lender’s shares to the highest level since 2017, bolstering a perception that the firm had finally shaken off its scandal-prone past.
The good vibes didn’t last. Late on Friday night, Deutsche Bank announced it’s putting aside as much as €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion), which it may be forced to pay to former shareholders of Postbank, a competitor it took over 14 years ago.