Deutsche Bank Wins Industry “Oscar”

The London-based International Financing Review (IFR) has given Germany’s largest bank two top awards in the European financial services industry’s equivalent of the “Oscars.” Deutsche Bank won bank of the year for 2003 and bond house of the year in the IFR’s annual awards. IFR said Deutsche Bank had become a market leader in a range of products and assets classes, and continued to dominate European capital markets while making successful inroads in the United States. The specialist financial publication selects its winners based on a survey of financial industry participants. The awards are likely welcome news for Deutsche Bank, which recently received the bad news that it’s been ordered to pay damages to former German media magnate Leo Kirch. Comments made by the bank’s former CEO Rolf Breuer about Kirch Group credit are said to have caused the group’s collapse.