Major European lenders bounce back

Deutsche Bank AG and Credit Suisse Group AG, two of Europe's biggest banks, said 2009 started well after they posted losses last year and cut the compensation of their chief executive officers by about 90 percent.

Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackermann said Germany's biggest bank had a "good start" to the year and expects to return to profitability after scaling back risky businesses and shedding toxic assets. Credit Suisse, Switzerland's second-biggest bank, had a strong start to the year, the Zurich-based company said in its annual report, published yesterday.

The comments come after Bank of America Corp, the biggest US bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup Inc said they were profitable in the first two months of the year, bolstering banking shares in the past two weeks. While Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse both reported record fourth-quarter losses amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, they have avoided taking government bailouts.