Cologne Court Extends Deadline For Deutsche Bank-Postbank Lawsuits Hearing

Cologne Court Extends Deadline For Deutsche Bank-Postbank Lawsuits Hearing

The matter will be heard on 23 October

A Cologne-based court has postponed the hearing of lawsuits related to the 2010 acquisition of the Postbank by Deutsche Bank.

The preceding months will give time to the entities to settle the litigation that has cast a shadow over Germany's largest lender.

Since the court has been urging the parties to settle the matter, it explained that the postponement meant a “continued need for consultation.”

Welcoming the decision, Deutsche Bank stated it was "a very complex matter" and it was good that it could “take more time for their review."

Recently, Deutsche Bank proposed a settlement to shareholders who sued the lender for underpaying them for acquiring Postbank over a decade ago. However, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, Jan Bayer, rejected the offer, stating that the payments were low.

On announcing the new deadline, the bench observed that no settlement was reached for its judgment. The date is also when Deutsche Bank has scheduled the publication of its third-quarter earnings.

The suits claimed that Deutsche Bank had underpaid former shareholders for the Postbank acquisition. It took a dramatic turn in April when the court sympathized with former shareholders.

It led the Deutsche Bank to make a sudden 1.3-billion-euro ($1.44 billion) provision to offset any possible payout to the plaintiffs.

The provision resulted in the bank reporting a quarterly loss, breaking a profit streak of 15 consecutive quarters. ($1 = 0.9053 euros).