In early afternoon trading, Deutsche Bank shares showed a loss of 5.32 percent at €51.93, while the Dax index of leading shares was down by 1.98 percent overall.

The bank refused to comment on rumours that second quarter results to be released at the end of the month would come in below expectations. Deutsche Bank had already declined to give a full-year outlook after posting a first quarter loss of €131 million ($206 million), its first in five years.

The bank took write-downs of €2.7 billion, after initially appearing to have escaped the worst of a financial crisis that followed the collapse of the US market for high risk, or subprime, mortgages in mid-2007.