Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank shares dropped on Tuesday after an unnamed investor sold stakes worth a total of 1.75 euros billion ($1.90 billion) in Germany’s two biggest lenders.
Shares in Deutsche Bank (ticker: DB) fell 9%, while smaller peer Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) was down 2.23% in early morning Frankfurt trading on Tuesday.
The investor sold 116 million Deutsche Bank shares at 10.98 euros-a-share and 72.5 million Commerzbank shares at 6.55 euros-a-share, according to calculations by bookrunner Morgan Stanley which were reported by The Wall Street Journal. This represents stakes of about 5.6% and 5.8% in Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank.
Monday’s share sale comes after U.S. private equity group Cerberus in January cut its stake in Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank by more than a third.
“We remain confident in our strategy,” Deutsche Bank said in an emailed statement to Barron’s. “Our focused business model and risk management capabilities have proven their resilience in challenging times.”
“The sale of a share portfolio does not change our strategy,” Commerzbank said in an emailed statement, adding that the bank’s business model and its risk management have “proven their worth in challenging times”.
story by Lina Saigol
