Deutsche Bank - FT.com Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest lender, has long sought to portray itself as the sturdiest European investment bank, and arguably holds that crown. It weathered the global financial crisis without a state bailout, even if it raised €10bn two years later to appease regulators and take over Postbank. That three whistleblowers, all former Deutsche employees in the US, have suggested that it had a closer brush with state ownership than was evident at the time is not news to the bank. The three have alleged in complaints to the Securities and Exchange Commission that the bank hid losses of at least €4bn in the crisis by incorrectly valuing derivatives positions, so averting a Berlin bailout. Deutsche denies any wrongdoing and the positions have mostly been unwound. But in a year when investors have brought lawsuits against banks in the US over crisis-era losses, the whistleblowing draws unwelcome attention to Deutsche and its capital position. Investors may also recall how, days after Lehman Brothers" collapse, Deutsche posted a surprise third-quarter profit - mostly after reclassifying €25bn of trading assets under new accounting rules that minimised the need for bigger writedowns. The whistleblowers" allegations will also reawaken doubts about how best to account for such derivatives, even if the bank has traded out of the positions. After all, the widening spreads behind the losses are tighter now only thanks to cheap stimulus funding post-crisis. Deutsche co-chief Anshu Jain has admitted what investors already know: the bank is "not where it should be" in terms of capital strength, where it lags behind peers. It aims to hit a fully-loaded Basel III core tier one capital ratio of 8 per cent by March, 10 per cent by 2015. That calls for markets to roar, including big profits on derivatives. Berenberg Bank reckons it needs a round €20bn now. Enough said.