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| Deutsche Bank CEO John Cryan |
News that Cerberus Capital Management has taken a 3% stake in Deutsche Bank provoked a flurry of renewed interest in German banking stocks, just as chief executive John Cryan was reassuring investors at a UBS conference that the repositioning of Germany’s largest lender is largely done or at least on track.
The IPO of Deutsche Asset Management unit is set for the first quarter of 2018; the merger of domestic banking operations with those of Postbank for the second. Meanwhile, the restructuring of the investment bank continues, a little too slowly for some.
A spokesperson for Cerberus says: “We have a constructive view of European fundamentals and believe Germany is a highly attractive place to invest, in particular. Within Germany, we believe there are attractive long-term opportunities in retail and corporate banking due to Germany’s robust economy, high savings rate and a number of other factors.”
That sounds straightforward enough and if Cerberus wants to bet on German banking ahead of rising rates in the euro area, Deutsche Bank is certainly a cheaper relative value play than Commerzbank.
