Deutsche Bank pays out pounds 1bn in bonuses

DEUTSCHE BANK paid nearly a billion pounds-worth of bonuses to staff in the first half of this year, and declared its costly push into investment banking a success after reporting an 80 per cent jump in six- monthly trading income. The bank is promising similar growth in the rest of 1999.

Bernard Attali was appointed vice-chairman, global investment banking for Europe. Mr Attali, former chairman of Air France, is also the brother of Jack Attali, former head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Deutsche, the world's largest bank in asset terms following its pounds 5.7bn takeover of Bankers' Trust, said operating profit rose 19.2 per cent to pounds 1.4bn, in line with market expectations.

The bank confirmed that Bankers' Trust's former chairman Frank Newman, who left the group at the end of June, had received a pay-off of pounds 63m to cover the remainder of his contract, which was set to run out in 2003.

Rolf Breuer, Deutsche's chief executive, said the integration of Bankers' Trust was firmly on schedule and unharmed by a series of defections from BT in recent months. Of Mr Newman he said: "We paid him what he would have earned in five years with us. Of course, it's a figure higher than one would get in Germany but it's what he was paid at Bankers Trust." BT's chief financial officer Richard Daniels, who also left in June, received pounds 16m, Deutsche said.

Buoyant financial markets boosted profits from dealing in equities, bonds, currencies and derivatives, helping trading income to beat forecasts at pounds 1.54bn.

Keeping hold of the cream of Bankers' Trust's investment bankers since the takeover has been a priority, building on the acquisition some years ago of Morgan Grenfell. But paying their bonuses has pushed administration costs up 25 per cent to pounds 4.2bn. Mr Breuer said: "After four years of expansion in investment banking we're where we want to be." Deutsche was now among the top three worldwide in bond and equities business and among the top five asset managers.