Deutsche Bank sees Q4 profits fall 76% as crisis curbs trading

Deutsche Bank AG, Germany’s largest bank, said fourth-quarter profit fell 76%, more than analysts estimated, as Europe’s debt crisis curbed trading and the company wrote down holdings.

The bank fell as much as 3.1% in Frankfurt trading after reporting net income of €147 million, below the €556m average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The investment bank posted a €422m pretax loss.

Chief executive Josef Ackermann, who steps down in May, said 2012 will be another “challenging year.” With his departure approaching, Deutsche Bank set aside funds for litigation and wrote down holdings in Greek government bonds, Icelandic generic drug maker Actavis Group hf, a Las Vegas casino and its BHF-Bank AG unit. The charges led to a loss of €722m at the corporate investments unit.