Germany’s Deutsche Bank is planning to announce an extra one-time payment for employees to help them combat soaring inflation, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.

The bank is close to reaching a decision on the payment for most domestic employees, the sources said.

Deutsche Bank’s management board could announce €1,500 one-off payment per employee, they added. 

“Deutsche Bank is examining whether to make use of options in the federal government’s third relief package,” the publication said citing a bank representative.

The representative refers to the possibility of making tax-free one-time payments to staff being impacted by rising prices.

In October 2022, inflation in Germany reached 11.6%, the highest in around seven decades. 

Deutsche Bank is the latest to join local and international peers in announcing the pay raise/inflation relief packages.

Last week, UK-based Lloyds Bank announced a pay hike of £2,000 for its staff in the country.

For the bank’s CEO Christian Sewing, the additional expense adds to the hurdles as he pushes to meet key profitability targets. 

Earlier, Sewing had stated that operating costs related to inflation would make it “challenging” to achieve targets. 

In a separate development last week, German financial regulator BaFin asked Deutsche Bank to address issues related to money laundering and terrorist financing.

BaFin has also threatened to impose a penalty on the bank if it fails to address the issues within the time limit.