Deutsche Bank's bonus pool grows moderately by 6.6%, investment banking performance lags behind Wall Street peers

Golden Ten Data reported on March 12 that Deutsche Bank's bonus pool increased by 6.6% last year, a rise lower than some of its Wall Street peers, reflecting mixed performance across its business divisions. Germany's largest bank stated in its annual report released on Thursday that the total year-end bonuses for 2025 rose from the previous year's 2.51 billions euros to 2.68 billions euros (3.1 billions dollars). Bonuses for employees in the investment banking division grew by about 4%, while the private banking division—which includes the wealth management business the bank is actively developing—saw bonus growth of over 11%. Institutions such as JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs Group, and Bank of America increased their bonus pools for bankers and traders by at least 10%. Last year, Deutsche Bank's revenue grew by 7%, but performance varied greatly across divisions. Fixed income and foreign exchange trading revenue increased by 13%; combined revenue from retail and private banking businesses grew by 3%; while corporate banking revenue declined by 1%. The report shows that one employee received total compensation exceeding 18 millions euros, and three others received more than 10 millions euros. A total of 339 employees had compensation exceeding 1 million euros, compared to 331 employees in 2024.