German prosecutors raid Deutsche Bank offices in Frankfurt

Shares in Deutsche Bank dropped on 9 June on news that the Frankfurt offices of Germany's biggest lender were searched by German prosecutors seeking evidence related to client securities transactions.

Shares in the lender were trading 2.97% lower at 02.06pm in Frankfurt, after losing 3.20% earlier in the day, after it confirmed that its offices were under investigation. The financial institution is worth some €38.44bn (£28.23bn, $43.21bn).

But no Deutsche Bank employees have been accused of wrongdoing in the case, according to a bank spokesman.

Earlier, a Reuters report said the raid on Deutsche Bank offices was related to German private bank Sal Oppenheim, which Deutsche acquired in 2010.

Separately, Reuters reported that the raid is tied to a tax rebate strategy known as "dividend stripping" by some of the bank's clients. In dividend stripping, market players buy a stock just before losing rights to a dividend and then sell it quickly. That allows them to exploit a legal loophole wherein both the buyer and the seller of a stock can reclaim capital gains tax in Germany.

Deutsche Bank, which on 7 June announced the unexpected departure of the governing partnership of Anshu Jain and Juergen Fitschen following a sharp drop in shareholder confidence in the pair, has been trying hard to rebuild its reputation after a raft of legal and regulatory problems.

Those problems have triggered billions of dollars in fines and settlements.

Authorities have repeatedly raided its offices in recent years in connection with investigations linked to the collapse of the Kirch media empire and a tax fraud case related to the trading of carbon dioxide emissions rights.