Deutsche Bank cuts peripheral exposure by 70%

Deutsche Bank AG cut its exposure to five peripheral euro zone countries by about 70% to 3.67 bln euros ($5.3 bln) amid concern that Greece's debt crisis could spread.
The German flagship lender cut its exposure to Italian sovereign debt to 996 mln euros at the end of June from more than 8 bln six months earlier, it said on Tuesday as it reported second-quarter results.
The lion's share of those bonds came from Deutsche Postbank when Deutsche Post became its majority owner in December.
The lender also protected itself against risks in Italy with credit default swaps. A spokesman for the company said the move did not imply that Deutsche Bank planned to cut back its operating business in Italy.
Deutsche Bank's exposure to Spain fell by more than half to 1.1 bln euros and to Greece to 1.2 bln from 1.6 bln.
The bank said it had not sold any Greek bonds, as promised, but rather took a 155 mln euro impairment on Greek bonds held in its banking book, equivalent to the 21% loss private creditors agreed to take on their bond holdings as a contribution to rescue package for Greece.