Deutsche Bank settles $176M lawsuit with former banker for undisclosed sum

Deutsche Bank has quietly put to bed a $176 million lawsuit filed by a former employee, reaching a confidential settlement in Frankfurt just days before the case was set to go to trial. The bank described the financial hit as “small” on its third-quarter earnings. Former Deutsche Bank employee Dario Schiraldi had been seeking roughly €152 million ($176.62 million) in damages, alleging that his reputation and career were destroyed in the fallout from the bank’s derivative dealings with Italy’s Monte dei Paschi di Siena back in 2008. On September 7, the Frankfurt court confirmed the case had been withdrawn, signaling both sides had reached terms behind closed doors. A saga rooted in Italian banking drama Monte dei Paschi di Siena entered into derivative transactions with Deutsche Bank in 2008 that prosecutors contended were used to hide financial losses at the struggling bank. Those transactions became a flashpoint for prosecutors in Milan, who eventually secured a conviction in 2019 related to the deals. By 2023, the conviction was overturned on appeal, with acquittals handed down. Schiraldi, who once led the large-client business division at Deutsche Bank and was caught up in the l...