Deutsche Bank – It’s Going Down… (September 30, 2016)

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Lehman Brothers 2.0? When it comes to the atrocity that is Deutsche Bank (DB), it sure is looking more and more like it with each passing day…

Shares of DB hit yet another 52-week low in yesterday’s trading session.

And in the news, from Bloomberg.

Amid mounting concern about Deutsche Bank AG’s ability to withstand pending legal penalties, about 10 hedge funds that do business with the German lender have moved to reduce their financial exposure.

…

The International Monetary Fund in June said Deutsche Bank may be the biggest contributor to risk among so-called global systemically important banks. The bank has gross notional derivatives exposure of 46 trillion euros, according to an Investor Relations presentation published this month. After netting and collateral, reported derivative trading assets fall to 41 billion euros, the bank said.

“The issue here is now one of confidence,” said Chris Wheeler, a financial analyst with Atlantic Equities LLP in London. “That’s what’s going on here. The thinking is ‘Deutsche Bank is fine, but there’s a slim chance it might not be, so why leave my money in there?’”

Clients review their exposure to counterparties to avoid situations like the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and MF Global’s 2011 bankruptcy when hedge funds had billions of dollars of assets frozen until the resolution of lengthy legal proceedings.

Here are some numbers that should scare the pants off of anyone…

From Zero Hedge.

So, not surprisingly, the DB Sub 1Y Credit Default Swap (CDS) has been surging…

If you haven’t seen the movie The Big Short, you should seriously watch it sometime (if anything, just to observe how market/investor sentiment can quickly change on a dime)… If you have already seen the film, you might want to replay it again, anyway, just to brush up on history… and get reacclimated with human/banker stupidity…

From Bloomberg.

In regards to DB, here’s what may turn out to be some famous last words:

“Our trading clients are amongst the world’s most sophisticated investors,” Michael Golden, a spokesman for Deutsche Bank, said in an e-mailed statement. “We are confident that the vast majority of them have a full understanding of our stable financial position, the current macroeconomic environment, the litigation process in the U.S. and the progress we are making with our strategy.”

Might we possibly see a government bail out?

The financial pressure on the lender is spilling over into German politics, stirring speculation Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government might be forced to offer support. Chief Executive Officer John Cryan told Bild newspaper this week that government aid was “out of the question.” Any taxpayer-funded solution for the bank’s troubles would be Merkel’s downfall, according to the leader of Germany’s biggest opposition party.

From Fortune.

Germany will not help ailing lenders such as Deutsche Bank, a senior lawmaker in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc said on Thursday, as resistance grew to any possibility of staging a rescue.

With Merkel meeting European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi on Thursday, Berlin has already flatly denied it is planning any repeat of the taxpayer-funded bailouts that Germany and other Western countries mounted during the global financial crisis.

This followed a newspaper report earlier in the week that the German government had made provisional plans to rescue Deutsche, which is fighting a fine of up to $14 billion from the U.S. Department of Justice.

We shall see…

One thing’s for certain, anyone who has been short DB this last decade has made an absolute killing!

When this stock eventually breaches $10/share, man, look out below!

From Zero Hedge.

How the once mighty have fallen…

From Zero Hedge.

Why am I documenting all this?

In short — Time capsule.

And if Deutsche Bank goes under, no, it will not be Lehman Brothers 2.0… it will be far worse and much more catastrophic! Deutsche Bank is way more important and tied into the global economic system than Lehman ever was…

Important note to self: I will NEVER understand the financials sector… It’s far too complicated… Don’t bother trying, bro… I’m going to invest in something else that makes a whole lot more sense to me, the lowly retail guy… Leave that stuff to the pros.

Tread carefully!