Deutsche Bank AG, the German lender seeking to overhaul how it manages risks, made a bet on US inflation that has put the firm on course to lose as much as US$60 million, people familiar with the matter said.
The trade used derivative products tied to US inflation, said the people, who requested anonymity because the details are not public.
The Frankfurt-based lender has been examining whether Deutsche Bank traders breached risk limits on the deal, some of the people said.
The case has been escalated to the bank’s supervisory board, one person said.
Deutsche Bank chief executive officer John Cryan has been trying to improve the lender’s risk and operational controls, which have drawn scorn from regulators around the world.
A risk limit violation could indicate a weakness in the bank’s oversight of its traders in a business that earned about US$270 million in the first quarter.
Just two months ago, the US Federal Reserve fined the firm for failing to ensure that traders abide by the Volcker Rule, a US law that restricts lenders from using their own funds to make speculative trades.
‘SELL’
“If it is true that a single trade could cause such a loss at Deutsche Bank, then this would be a clear setback to Cryan’s efforts to improve controls,” said Michael Seufert, an analyst with NordLB who has a “sell” recommendation on the stock.
“He has vowed to end such control failures,” Seufert said.
An official for Deutsche Bank in New York declined to comment.
Deutsche Bank made the trade in anticipation of how clients were going to transact and is not expecting the bet to reverse, one of the people said.
Inflation traders buy and sell bonds linked to inflation, such as US Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, and other derivatives, such as options.
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