Deutsche Bank plays down prospect of M&A any time soon

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank is focused on making itself stronger by doing its "homework" rather than considering mergers and acquisitions, the lender's finance chief said on Thursday, noting any tie-up could be "much further down the road".

CFO James von Moltke, on an earnings call with analysts, was asked whether the bank would consider using excess capital for possible M&A.

Von Moltke, who is also the bank's deputy chief executive officer, said "there's more homework" for the bank and noted hurdles that make it difficult for big mergers to pay off.

Those comments reiterated the bank's regular talking points on mergers, but von Moltke then went further to suggest that it could still be a considerable time before Deutsche would entertain the issue.

"We’ll see how the world evolves much further down the road," he said.

Deutsche Bank in 2019 abandoned merger talks with its smaller domestic rival Commerzbank and has since been focusing on cutting costs and restoring profits.

The bank on Wednesday posted its first loss in four years.

(Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Madeline Chambers)