Deutsche Bank Announces $5 Billion Debt Buyback In Bid To Reassure Investors

Deutsche Bank announced Friday it would buy back more than $5 billion in outstanding debt. The news comes at the tail end of a week that saw Deutsche Bank's shares battered by investors concerned over the German lender's ability to meet its bond payments and legal costs.

“The bank’s strong liquidity position allows it to repurchase these securities without any corresponding change to its 2016 funding plan,” the bank said in a statement.

The bond repurchases would be split between a tender for 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) in euro-denominated bonds and $2 billion in dollar-denominated bonds. The bank has roughly $56 billion in senior debt on issue, the Financial Times reported.

By the close of trading Thursday, shares of Deutsche Bank had fallen 35 percent, to $15.52, from the start of the year as investors grew increasingly worried over the financial stability of major European banks amid worsening global market conditions. Of particular concern were the bank's contingent convertible bonds (dubbed “Coco bonds”), an unusual type of hybrid debt that can be converted to equity if the lender’s capital reserves are significantly depleted.

Responding to the concerns, Deutsche Bank co-CEO John Cryan assured shareholders Tuesday the bank's balance sheet was "absolutely rock solid." Shares of Deutsche Bank rose more than 8.5 percent, to $16.84, in premarket trading.