Deutsche Bank signals return to normality with buyback and dividend

By Tom Sims and Frank Siebelt

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Deutsche Bank signalled a more positive outlook on Wednesday saying it would undertake a 300 million euro ($339 million) share buyback and pay a dividend for 2021.

The measures reflect the improved financial state of Germany's largest lender, as well as a return to more normal times after regulators prohibited buybacks and dividends during the coronavirus pandemic.

The share buyback will be completed in the first half of this year, while the dividend has been set at 0.20 euro per share, the bank said in a statement. Analysts had expected the bank to pay a dividend of 30 cents for the year.

Deutsche Bank last paid a dividend of 11 cents in 2019 for 2018, and has not announced a major share buyback in years.

It said the two moves will give shareholders around 700 million euros in capital, adding that it represents a "first step towards a previously announced commitment to return 5 billion euros of capital to shareholders over time".

Shares in the bank traded 2.3% higher in Frankfurt after the announcement, which comes ahead of its earnings on Thursday.

Analysts expect Deutsche Bank to swing to a net loss for the fourth-quarter amid a slowdown in revenue at its investment bank.

($1 = 0.8862 euros)

(Reporting by Tom Sims and Frank Siebelt; Editing by Jan Harvey, Barbara Lewis and Alexander Smith)