Deutsche Bank swings to first profit since 2014

Deutsche Bank is back in the black for the first time since 2014.

In 2020 the German lender swung to a small annual net profit of 113 million euros - or about 135 million dollars.

That compares with a loss of 5.7 billion euros the year before.

It also beat forecasts by analysts, who had predicted another loss.

The return to profit marks a big win for Chief Executive Christian Sewing.

He was appointed in 2018 to turn around Germany's biggest bank.

It had been battered by years of losses and steep fines for money laundering and its role in the global mortgage crisis.

Over the past decade Deutsche has lost a total of 8.2 billion euros - or over 9.8 billion dollars.

But Sewing says he's confident the positive trend will continue this year, despite the difficult economic backdrop.

Like its rivals, Deutsche has enjoyed a trading boom due to market volatility sparked by the global health crisis.

That helped turn investment banking into its profit engine, with revenue at the division up by almost a third.