Deutsche Bank’s
Running Tab of Investigations

By Nicholas Comfort, Sam Dodge and Demetrios Pogkas

Lax money-laundering controls, market rigging, selling toxic securities—Germany’s Deutsche Bank has been investigated for all of these practices since the 2008 financial crisis, running up $18.3 billion in fines and legal costs, more than any other European bank. Regulators and prosecutors have raided the bank’s Frankfurt headquarters, subpoenaed documents and grilled executives in dozens of probes on three continents.

Some investigations have been settled, while others may never lead to actions by authorities. Deutsche Bank says the worst is over as it heads into negotiations to possibly merge with crosstown rival Commerzbank. But other matters are pending, new ones may crop up and the tab will grow after the bank said litigation expenses will rise this year from last.

The Cost of Bad Behavior

European banks with more than $2 billion in fines and legal settlements paid, 2008-2018
Deutsche Bank
$18.3B
Royal Bank of Scotland
$18.2B
Credit Suisse
$13.2B
BNP Paribas
$11.3B
UBS
$11B
HSBC
$9.5B
Barclays
$6.6B
Societe Generale
$4.6B
Commerzbank
$2.9B
ING
$2.3B

Here’s a timeline of major investigations Deutsche Bank has disclosed. Each bar represents a probe by a different agency, and each penalty or settlement amount represents what Deutsche Bank was required to pay. Of the $18.3 billion in legal costs, more than $8 billion is for settling some of these cases. The rest includes civil litigation and other penalties.

$
Investigations that resulted in fines or settlement payments
U.S. Mortgage Bonds
Investigation: Part of industry-wide probes into products and practices (origination, purchase, securitization, sale and trading of bonds backed by U.S. mortgages) that have been blamed for exacerbating the 2007-2008 U.S. housing meltdown.
Investigators: Department of Justice
Status: Settled
Penalty: $3,100,000,000
U.S. Mortgage Bonds
Investigation: Part of industry-wide probes into products and practices (origination, purchase, securitization, sale and trading of bonds backed by U.S. mortgages) that have been blamed for exacerbating the 2007-2008 U.S. housing meltdown.
Investigators: Subpoenas and requests for information from regulators and government entities, including members of the RMBS Working Group of the U.S. Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force
Status: Ongoing, bank is cooperating
Libor
Investigation: Industry-wide probe into whether banks submitted inaccurate estimates of their cost of borrowing to benefit their positions.
Investigators: European Commission
Status: Settled
Penalty: $985,500,000
Libor
Investigation: Industry-wide probe into whether banks submitted inaccurate estimates of their cost of borrowing to benefit their positions.
Investigators: DOJ, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, New York State Department of Financial Services
Status: Settled
Penalty: $2,519,000,000
Libor
Investigation: Industry-wide probe into whether banks submitted inaccurate estimates of their cost of borrowing to benefit their positions.
Investigators: Swiss Competition Commission
Status: Settled
Penalty: $5,400,000
Libor
Investigation: Industry-wide probe into whether banks submitted inaccurate estimates of their cost of borrowing to benefit their positions.
Investigators: Working group of U.S. state attorneys general
Status: Settled without admitting wrongdoing
Settlement Payment: $220,000,000
Libor
Investigation: Industry-wide probe into whether banks submitted inaccurate estimates of their cost of borrowing to benefit their positions.
Investigators: Other unidentified authorities
Status: Ongoing, bank has cooperated
U.S. Embargoes
Investigation: Processing of U.S. dollar payments through U.S. financial institutions for parties from countries subject to embargoes, such as Iran, Libya, Syria, Myanmar and Sudan.
Investigators: New York Fed
Status: Settled without admitting wrongdoing
Penalty: $58,000,000
U.S. Embargoes
Investigation: Processing of U.S. dollar payments through U.S. financial institutions for parties from countries subject to embargoes, such as Iran, Libya, Syria, Myanmar and Sudan.
Investigators: NY DFS
Status: Settled
Penalty: $200,000,000
U.S. Embargoes
Investigation: Processing of U.S. dollar payments through U.S. financial institutions for parties from countries subject to embargoes, such as Iran, Libya, Syria, Myanmar and Sudan.
Investigators: U.S. authorities
Status: Unknown, no longer disclosed in bank’s list of legal proceedings
Currency Market
Investigation: Industry-wide probes into whether banks, including Deutsche Bank, attempted to rig foreign-exchange markets.
Investigators: CFTC
Status: Closed
Currency Market
Investigation: Industry-wide probes into whether banks, including Deutsche Bank, attempted to rig foreign-exchange markets.
Investigators: Brazilian antitrust agency
Status: Settled
Penalty: $15,000,000
Currency Market
Investigation: Industry-wide probes into whether banks, including Deutsche Bank, attempted to rig foreign-exchange markets.
Investigators: DOJ
Status: Closed
Currency Market
Investigation: Industry-wide probes into whether banks, including Deutsche Bank, attempted to rig foreign-exchange markets.
Investigators: Federal Reserve
Status: Settled. Ordered to implement additional improvements in oversight, internal controls, compliance, risk management and audit programs, and to periodically report progress to the Fed.
Penalty: $137,000,000
Currency Market
Investigation: Industry-wide probes into whether banks, including Deutsche Bank, attempted to rig foreign-exchange markets.
Investigators: NY DFS
Status: Settled. Ordered to implement improvements in oversight, internal controls, compliance, risk management and audit programs, and to periodically report on its progress.
Penalty: $205,000,000
Currency Market
Investigation: Industry-wide probes into whether banks, including Deutsche Bank, attempted to rig foreign-exchange markets.
Investigators: Other unidentified regulatory agencies
Status: Ongoing, bank has cooperated
Hiring Practices
Investigation: Deutsche Bank’s compliance with U.S. law with respect to its practices for hiring staff referred by its clients and government officials, potentially to win business.
Investigators: DOJ
Status: Ongoing, bank is cooperating
Hiring Practices
Investigation: Deutsche Bank’s compliance with U.S. law with respect to its practices for hiring staff referred by its clients and government officials, potentially to win business.
Investigators: Securities and Exchange Commission
Status: Ongoing, bank is cooperating
Hiring Practices
Investigation: Deutsche Bank’s compliance with U.S. law with respect to its practices for hiring staff referred by its clients and government officials, potentially to win business.
Investigators: Unidentified authorities in various jurisdictions
Status: Ongoing, bank is cooperating
Mirror Trades
Investigation: Any failings in Deutsche Bank’s money-laundering controls after clients moved billions of dollars out of Russia with equity trades in Moscow and London that offset one another.
Investigators: FCA
Status: Settled
Penalty: $205,000,000
Mirror Trades
Investigation: Any failings in Deutsche Bank’s money-laundering controls after clients moved billions of dollars out of Russia with equity trades in Moscow and London that offset one another.
Investigators: NY DFS
Status: Settled
Penalty: $425,000,000
Mirror Trades
Investigation: Any failings in Deutsche Bank’s money-laundering controls after clients moved billions of dollars out of Russia with equity trades in Moscow and London that offset one another.
Investigators: Federal Reserve
Status: Settled
Penalty: $41,000,000
Mirror Trades
Investigation: Any failings in Deutsche Bank’s money-laundering controls after clients moved billions of dollars out of Russia with equity trades in Moscow and London that offset one another.
Investigators: DOJ and other authorities
Status: Ongoing, bank is cooperating
U.S. Treasury Securities
Investigation: Inquiries including requests for information on U.S. Treasuries auctions, trading and related market activity.
Investigators: Unidentified regulatory and law enforcement authorities
Status: Unknown, bank is cooperating
Sovereign Bonds
Investigation: Inquiries including requests for information on alleged attempts to manipulate the markets for sovereign, supranational and agency bonds.
Investigators: Unidentified regulatory and law enforcement authorities
Status: Unknown, bank is cooperating
Sovereign Bonds
Investigation: Potential breach of EU antitrust rules in relation to secondary trading of SSA bonds denominated in U.S. dollars.
Investigators: European Commission
Status: Deutsche Bank has been granted immunity, doesn’t expect a financial penalty
U.S. Mortgage Bonds
Investigation: Part of industry-wide probes into products and practices (origination, purchase, securitization, sale and trading of bonds backed by U.S. mortgages) that have been blamed for exacerbating the 2007-2008 U.S. housing meltdown.
Investigators: Maryland Attorney General
Status: Settled without finding of wrongdoing
Settlement Payment: $15,000,000
Panama Papers
Investigation: Whether Deutsche Bank helped clients set up offshore companies in tax havens and failed to report suspicions that money could have been obtained illegally.
Investigators: Frankfurt prosecutors
Status: Unknown, bank is cooperating and has said it found no indication of misconduct by staff
Ties to Danske Bank
Investigation: Whether Deutsche Bank met its obligations for handling questionable funds of Danske Bank clients in its role as a correspondent bank.
Investigators: DOJ
Status: Unknown, bank is cooperating and hasn’t established a provision or contingent liability for the matter
Ties to Danske Bank
Investigation: Whether Deutsche Bank met its obligations for handling questionable funds of Danske Bank clients in its role as a correspondent bank.
Investigators: Unidentified authorities
Status: Unknown, bank is cooperating and hasn’t established a provision or contingent liability for the matter
Ties to Danske Bank
Investigation: Whether Deutsche Bank met its obligations for handling questionable funds of Danske Bank clients in its role as a correspondent bank.
Investigators: Federal Reserve
Status: Unknown, bank is cooperating and hasn’t established a provision or contingent liability for the matter
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
U.S. Mortgage Bonds
👆
3,100,000,000
$
👆
U.S. Mortgage Bonds
Libor
985,500,000
$
2,519,000,000
$
5,400,000
$
220,000,000
$
Libor
U.S. Embargoes
58,000,000
$
200,000,000
$
U.S. Embargoes
Currency Market
15,000,000
$
137,000,000
$
205,000,000
$
Currency Market
Hiring Practices
Hiring Practices
Mirror Trades
205,000,000
$
425,000,000
$
41,000,000
$
Mirror Trades
U.S. Treasury Securities
U.S. Treasury Securities
Sovereign Bonds
Sovereign Bonds
15,000,000
$
Panama Papers
Ties to Danske Bank

Source: Data compiled by Bloomberg

Editors: Robert Friedman and Jeremy Scott Diamond.

Methodology:

Bloomberg News compiled this list based on disclosures Deutsche Bank made in its 2018 financial report, as well as earlier statements by the bank. Start dates reflect when investigations were first disclosed by the bank or reported in the news media, unless the disclosure indicated an earlier time when a probe began. Unless otherwise stated, the list shows matters that haven’t been fully concluded, although some authorities have closed their investigations of the respective issues. Penalty and settlement amounts were either announced in U.S. dollars or converted into dollars based on exchange rates at the time.