Germany’s largest lender’s profit in the first half of the year is the highest since 2007.

Deutsche Bank returned to a better-than-expected profit in the second quarter from a loss a year ago as trading earnings helped offset mixed results at its global investment banking division and a hit from the jump in the euro’s value.

The come midway through a crucial year for Deutsche as it winds up a three-year plan and attempts to meet a series of targets that some analysts doubt it will achieve.

“This puts us on track to meet our 2025 targets,” the bank’s chief executive officer Christian Sewing said of the results.

Germany’s largest lender reported net profit attributable to shareholders of 1.485 billion euros in the quarter, compared with a loss of 143 million euros a year earlier.

It was better than analyst expectations for a profit of around 1.2 billion euros, helped by strong trading income as markets remained volatile.

The loss a year earlier resulted from a large provision for an investor lawsuit, briefly interrupting a long profit streak as the bank recovered from steep losses over the past decade.

The quarterly earnings are part of a flurry of reports from Europe’s biggest banks, as investors search for evidence on how lenders are weathering a weak economy, a strengthening euro and a trade war.

Deutsche said the profit in the first half of the year was the highest since 2007. Shares were up more than 4 per cent in early trade.

Deutsche’s investment bank, which operates from Sydney to New York, remained the biggest revenue generator in the quarter, though a postponement in deals weighed on the results.

Revenue at the overall division was up 3 per cent, better than expectations for a meagre 0.5 per cent increase.

Within the investment bank, revenue for fixed-income and currency trading, one of the bank’s largest businesses, rose 11 per cent, better than expectations for a 3.1 per cent gain. 

Origination and advisory, after making big gains last year, saw a drop of 29 per cent, compared with expectations for a 18 per cent decline. Deutsche recently revamped key roles at the division.