Deutsche Bank has declared the problems at Postbank to be over. The group’s management is “very satisfied” with the progress, said CFO James von Moltke on Thursday, referring to the bank’s quarterly figures. This essentially cleared up the traffic jam in customer-critical processes within the framework of the Bafin order. There are just a few things left to do that have nothing to do with customers. “We are now concentrating on improving the service,” says Moltke. The repair work was completed “grosso modo”.
There were significant problems last year when migrating Postbank’s IT to Deutsche Bank’s systems. Thousands of customers were temporarily unable to access their accounts, customer service was almost impossible to reach, and customers with seizure protection accounts were among those affected, some of whom, according to consumer advocates, found themselves in existential crises. After the financial regulator Bafin was flooded with complaints in the fall, it sent a special representative to Deutsche Bank to monitor the problems.
The difficulties once again left their mark on the financial institution’s figures, although overall things went better in the first quarter than analysts had expected: despite higher provisions, the largest German bank earned around 1.3 billion euros in the first quarter of 2024, which was around ten percent more than in the same quarter of the previous year. Most banks in Europe continue to benefit from the increased interest rates, which bring them high profits. At the same time, Deutsche Bank, like all other institutions, hardly has to pay any bank levy to the European resolution fund – an amount of several hundred million euros that was always recorded in the first quarter and was no longer applicable this year. Investment banking was the strongest source of income, while private customer business weakened again.
Consumer advocates want customers to receive flat-rate compensation in such cases
The private customer business suffered, among other things, from high risk provisions for bad loans. The bank had to make this provision partly because of the service problems, explained James von Moltke. She had to classify many loans as “non-performing” that actually weren’t, which is why the provision could probably be canceled again in the course of the year. In fact, in the wake of the Postbank debacle, the bank not only had problems with accounts, but with the associated ones DSL bank also with construction financing loans. Many customers there had complained about unprocessed inquiries and delays in payouts, which is why the group is also facing claims for damages in this area. However, Moltke did not want to say how many customers have now received compensation for the Postbank problems or how much the bank has spent on them.
Consumer advocates recently called for customers to be compensated across the board in such cases. There is an “urgent need for a legally lump-sum compensation claim for such blatant disruptions to banking services,” said Marion Zinkeler, Managing Director of the Bavarian Consumer Center, the Reuters news agency. It should not be the case that financial service providers “do not have to fear any significant consequences” in the event of self-inflicted disruptions that have consequences for consumers. The consumer advocates pointed out that such claims exist for airlines through the European Air Passenger Rights Regulation. In their opinion, this should also be implemented in banking services.
At least Deutsche Bank’s shareholders have had something to be happy about lately: the financial institution’s shares have risen sharply in the past few weeks, even more than the overall market, after barely making any headway for years. In addition, the bank is paying a dividend again. On Thursday the share price was at times in the red and at times slightly higher. Analysts described the numbers as “okay, but nothing special.”