Deutsche Bank surprised investors today with €2.5 billion of writedowns in the wake of the global credit crisis, equivalent to more than a third of its 2007 net profit.
Chief Executive Josef Ackermann told investors conditions had deteriorated dramatically in recent weeks and said the bank would write down €2.5 billion on the value of loans it has committed to as well as other risky investments, sending its shares down.
But Germany's biggest bank said its capital base was still strong and that it expected its Tier 1 ratio - a key measure of financial health - to stay between 8 and 9 per cent at the end of the first quarter.
Deutsche's stock price was trading down 1.7 per cent at €70.45 this morning.
Deutsche had been seen as one of the survivors of the credit collapse. But the writedowns announced on Tuesday, which will be booked in the first quarter, are more than the entire markdowns it made last year.
Earlier today, Swiss bank UBS wrote down an additional $19 billion (€12 billion) on US real estate and related assets, causing a $12 billion loss in the first quarter and said it was looking for fresh funds.