(MENAFN- AFP) Shares in Germany's biggest lender Deutsche Bank plummeted nearly nine percent in Frankfurt early Friday amid fears about its viability, dragging markets around the world down with it.
By 0725 GMT, its shares had shed 8.83 percent to 9.91 euros ($11.07), after news that a number of hedge funds had pulled money out of the German giant owing to concerns over its financial strength.
Traditional Frankfurt rival Commerzbank was pulled down with Deutsche, losing 7.3 percent to trade at 5.38 euros.
Shares in Deutsche Bank had lost seven percent in New York on Thursday before trading on Wall Street ended, while markets in Hong Kong and Tokyo lost ground at open on Friday morning over worries for Deutsche's future.
Bloomberg News reported on Thursday that about 10 hedge funds that clear trades with Deutsche Bank withdrew some excess cash and derivatives holdings and moved the assets to other firms this week, citing an internal bank document.
AFP sources knowledgeable of the situation confirmed that 10 hedge funds had pulled funds out, including Millennium Partners, Capula Investment, and British fund Rokos Capital Management.
Bloomberg said that the "vast majority" of the bank's clients have made no changes to their exposure at the bank, a position echoed by Deutsche itself when it insisted that some 800 remaining customers trusted in its "stable financial position".
Shares in Deutsche Bank have been falling since Monday as investors react to a $14-billion fine demand from the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and conflicting reports in German media over whether Berlin would come to the troubled bank's aid if necessary.
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