Shares of Deutsche Bank fall on report of Fed downgrade

NEW YORK – Shares of Deutsche Bank are down more 7 per cent on a report that Federal Reserve downgraded the German bank’s U.S. business to “troubled condition” about a year ago.

The designation is one of the lowest that the Fed assigns and had not been made public before The Wall Street Journal reported it on Thursday.

Deutsche Bank said it doesn’t comment on specific regulatory feedback, adding, “We are highly focused on addressing identified weakness in our U.S. operations.”

The Federal Reserve declined to comment.

German business newspaper Handelsblatt reported in December that special prosecutor Robert Mueller subpoenaed Deutsche Bank seeking records as part of the investigation into 2016 election meddling by Russia.

Deutsche Bank shares have lost more than 40 per cent of their value since the beginning of the year.