Deutsche Bank Is `Absolutely Rock-Solid,’ Cryan Tells Employees

More narrowly, markets have focused recently on complex financial instruments issued by banks dubbed contingent convertible bonds.

Cryan issued a statement last night saying that Deutsche Bank is “absolutely rock-solid”, but obviously investors aren’t sure about that.

Deutsche Bank is no Lehman Brothers.

Cryan wrote in a message on the bank’s website Tuesday that if clients ask about how market gyrations are affecting the bank, “you can tell them that Deutsche Bank remains absolutely rock-solid, given our strong capital and risk position”.

Fears that banks do not have the financial reserves to cope with a major oil or commodities company reneging on its debt payments were reflected in European stock markets on Tuesday, with banking stocks and commodities firms under particular pressure in afternoon trade across all the major European indexes.

It follows Monday’s statement to investors when the bank said its 2016 payment capacity was estimated to be about EUR1bn (GBP783m), adequate to pay so called added grade 1 (AT1) coupons of around EUR350m on 30 April.

The question for CoCo investors and holders of trust preferred securities is whether Deutsche Bank has sufficient “available distributable items”, a measure based on audited unconsolidated accounts calculated under German accounting principles, to make the payments, according to Adamson.

Deutsche Bank’s shares have fallen by 40% since the start of the year.

The Management Board also discussed its vision for the bank.

Shares in Credit Suisse were off 6.9 per cent Tuesday, UniCredit 6.5 per cent, Royal Bank of Scotland, 3 per cent, Switzerland’s UBS 5.1 per cent. We want to be the most respected financial services provider across all customer segments in Germany, our vital and strong home market; the number one bank for our corporate, institutional and fiduciary clients in Europe; and the best foreign bank in the United States and Asia.

The FT adds the buyback is expected to focus on senior bonds, of which Deutsche had €50B ($56.5B) as of September. Mr Cryan has been seeking to boost capital buffers and profitability by cutting costs and eliminating thousands of jobs as volatile markets undermine revenue and outstanding regulatory probes raise the spectre of continued legal charges.

She said: “Markets are telling us that banks from all over the world – highly sensitive to economic conditions – are in trouble”.