Deutsche Bank has released its first-quarter net profits of €120 mln ($146 mln), down 79 percent from last year, CNBC reported[1] today, April 26. The net profits make the Frankfurt-based,148-year old institution less profitable than the world’ top crypto exchange, Binance[2].
Less than a year old, and currently the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume[3] Binance has to date posted quarterly profits higher than that of Deutsche Bank. On March 3, Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao, better know as CZ in the crypto industry, reported $200 mln[4] in profits in the first ever second-quarter in the life of the exchange:
“In the first 3 months from inception, profits amounted to $7,500,000 USD. In the 2nd quarter, profits amounted to $200,000,000. ….Binance is aggressively recruiting, and is projected to recruit over 2000 employees this year alone, and even more next year.”
Binance’s official update this month reported[5] third quarterly net profits of $150 mln, marginally higher than Deutsche Bank’s first quarter figures.
According to Reuters, Deutsche Bank fired 300 U.S.-based investment bankers[6] yesterday, and plans to significantly reduce its workforce – by the end of this week, another 100 employees will have lost their jobs, as the Financial Times further reported[7].
Zhao had previously declined[8] requests from Bloomberg News to grant access to Binance’s financial statements, or to provide proof of his personal wealth, which he claims is as much as $2 bln.
Deutsche Bank’s woes are not shared by all traditional financial sector players: JPMorgan Chase’s first-quarter 2018 net earnings this year were reported at $8.7 bln[9] and Goldman Sachs’s at $2.83 bln[10]. JPMorgan is currently testing
