Deutsche Bank sees biggest annual profit in a decade

By DAVID McHUGH
AP Business Writer

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Deutsche Bank says it reaped its best annual profit in 10 years last year. Germany’s largest bank said it had put most of its wrenching, years-long restructuring behind it. The bank underlined its progress by announcing a dividend for 2021 and a 300 million-euro share buyback to return money to shareholders. Profit came in at 2.5 billion euros last year, four times the year before. CEO Christian Sewing said the bank was fulfilling promises made in July 2019 when it announced a sweeping restructuring plan that involved shedding thousands of jobs in an attempt to end years of uneven profits and large losses from run-ins with regulatory authorities.