California residents may be aware that several major banks have recently been issued multi-billion dollar fines by the U.S. Department of Justice. The fines were issued for financial fraud that the banks engaged in before and during the financial crisis in 2008. Bank of America agreed to pay $16.65 billion in 2014, and Goldman Sachs just agreed to pay $5 billion this year.
Deutsche Bank is the latest big bank to be fined for its recession-era activities. In mid-September, news outlets announced that the German bank was fined $14 billion by the DOJ. The fine was issued to cover claims over residential mortgage-backed securities that were issued by Deutsche Bank prior to 2008. However, bank officials have publicly stated that they are not planning to settle for $14 billion, and negotiations are still underway with the DOJ.
According to reports, Deutsche Bank only has around $6 billion reserved for litigation expenses. News of the DOJ fine has caused shares in the German bank to fall, and Bloomberg recently reported that Deutsche Bank shares have gone down by 47 percent so far this year. Not only is Deutsche Bank the biggest German lender, it is also the biggest foreign commercial real estate lender that operates in the U.S.
Falling shares in Deutsche Bank could affect the U.S. commercial real estate market if the bank decides to curtail its U.S. lending. A lawyer may be able to talk to a commercial real estate investor about market trends that could impact investments or future prospects. If an investor has financial difficulties related to decreased lending, an attorney might be able to help the investor to determine other options.