Deutsche to pay $450m in bonus tax

Deutsche Bank will pay the British Treasury £200 million ($456.9 million) as a result of the one-off "supertax" on bonus pools.

The company is the first major bank to put a figure on how much it will have to shell out as a result of the levy, which will be spread across its employees globally.

The German bank has set aside about €500 million ($995 million) in "variable" compensation for its 8000 staff in London. The 50 per cent tax covers all bonus payments above the first £25,000.

That makes the average bonus in London £54,600, but top earners will take home many times that figure.

Chancellor Alistair Darling reckons the supertax will raise £500 million. JP Morgan bonuses, unveiled last month, are already expected to contribute more than £300 million to the Treasury's coffers, which with Deutsche's payment means the initial figure has already been covered by just two banks.

The numbers were revealed alongside Deutsche Bank's final results, which showed Germany's biggest bank rebounded in the fourth quarter, reporting a net profit of €1.3 billion, although that was flattered by a one-off tax gain.

The year before it had a record fourth-quarter loss of €4.8 billion.

For the year, Deutsche reported net income of €5 billion against a net loss of €3.9 billion in 2009.

- INDEPENDENT