Deutsche Bank warns of loss
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Ackermann: Trying to sell assets
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FRANKFURT, Germany (CNN) -- Deutsche Bank, Germany's biggest bank, warned on Thursday it would post a first-quarter net loss as the value of its stakes in Fiat and troubled insurer Gerling dwindled.
The bank plans to report a net loss of 200 million euros ($181 million) when it reports results on April 30, the bank said in a statement. It made a pretax profit of 225 million euros, well below analysts' expectations.
Many analysts had expected the bank to report healthy earnings as Chief Executive Josef Ackermann tried to sell assets worth eight billion euros to improve profitability.
But falling stock markets have slashed the value of stakes it owns in various companies. Deutsche Bank (FDBK) owns 12 percent of car giant DaimlerChrysler, worth about 3.6 billion euros.
It has already sold stakes in stock exchange operator Deutsche Boerse and heating appliance maker Buderu.
The bank plans to take a charge of 725 million euros to write down the value of stakes in Italian carmaker Fiat, German engineer mg technologies and Germany's Gerling, which it has struggled to sell.
"The charges are heavy," WestLB analyst Georg Kanders told Reuters. "I did not expect a profit warning at such a high level."
Deutsche Bank's stock fell 2.5 percent to 46.88 euros in early Frankfurt trading on Thursday morning.
