Deutsche Bank reportedly mulling partial US retreat to cut costs

Deutsche Bank AG, Germany's biggest bank, is considering options such as scaling back US operations as part of a wider overhaul to lower costs, according to several media reports.

A US pullback was already discussed by the supervisory board and would be more likely than a sale of the asset-management business, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported, citing an undisclosed person familiar with the matter. No decision has been taken, according to the German newspaper. Deutsche Bank doesn't plan a full US retreat, according to Reuters. Renee Calabro, a spokeswoman for Deutsche Bank in New York, declined to comment. CEO John Cryan is under pressure to lower cost further as mounting legal expenses threaten to undermine profitability. While a sell-off in the shares accelerated last month, when the US Justice Department requested $14 billion to settle a probe tied to residential mortgage-backed securities, Cryan has said he doesn't plan to raise capital and expects US authorities to scale back their initial demand.

The shares closed at 12.24 euros on Friday, up 2.04 per cent on the day. The company has lost about 46 per cent of its market value this year, making it the fourth-worst performer on the Bloomberg Europe Banks and Financial Services Index, which slipped 22 percent.