Deutsche Bank settles former banker’s €152 million lawsuit

Deutsche Bank has removed a €152 million lawsuit from its docket through an out-of-court settlement with a former investment banker. The bank said the parties had confidentially resolved “all claims and allegations,” but it did not disclose the terms.

The bank said the settlement would have only a small financial effect in the third quarter of 2026. The Frankfurt Regional Court canceled a hearing scheduled for Sept. 10 after the plaintiff withdrew the case.

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All claims and allegations.

The former banker had sought damages in the hundreds of millions of euros. He said earlier Deutsche Bank dealings with Italy’s Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena had damaged his career after an Italian criminal case and a first-instance judgment. According to the court, he also alleged that the bank had used a questionable accounting method and later made him a scapegoat when regulators and the press took notice.

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Because of alleged damage caused to his career by the Italian criminal proceedings and the first-instance judgment.

The dispute involved complex derivatives transactions that Deutsche Bank conducted with MPS and an MPS subsidiary in 2008. Five former Deutsche Bank employees and one serving employee were convicted in Italy in 2019 of aiding balance-sheet fraud in conjunction with market manipulation. An appeals court acquitted all defendants in 2022.

Four other related lawsuits remain pending in London. Deutsche Bank values those claims at more than £600 million in total, or around €700 million. The bank has also reached an out-of-court settlement with a sixth former employee. It has repeatedly rejected the former employees’ claims and said it considers all such lawsuits unfounded.

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Deutsche Bank considers all such lawsuits unfounded and will defend itself vigorously, including by challenging the excessive and unrealistic losses claimed.