Deutsche Bank agrees to audit of risk management systems

Deutsche Bank has agreed to a voluntary special audit of its risk management systems following a settlement with German shareholder lobby group DSW, both sides announced today.

"Deutsche Bank and DSW agreed on a voluntary special audit, limited to the appropriateness of Deutsche Bank's current processes to identify and evaluate provisions for litigations," Germany's biggest lender said in a short emailed statement.

The special audit will focus on whether Deutsche Bank's control functions can sufficiently detect legal risks that may lead to high provisions, DSW said in a statement today.

"Now we will finally get clarity on how effective the controls of the bank really are," said DSW president Ulrich Hocker.

The bank is currently entangled in a web of legal woes, facing as many as 6,000 different litigation cases, the provisions for which helped push it to a record loss of 6.8 billion euros last year.

It was fined last May a record $2.5 billion for its involvement in rigging interest rates, and has faced probes by Swiss authorities for suspected price fixing on the precious metals market.

US investigators have also looked into its Moscow branch on suspicion of possible involvement in money-laundering.