Deutsche's prop desk to follow Dresdner's?

Deutsche Bank's equity proprietary trading desk made a loss in the second quarter. If previous events at Dresdner Kleinwort are anything to go by, it doesn't augur well for the bank's traders.

Deutsche's equity prop desk was in the red to the tune of nearly 68m in the three months to July, the Financial Times reports. The paper attributes the loss to market turmoil in May and June, when global stock markets plummeted.

Deutsche's traders may do well to cast a nervous eye to their former peers at Dresdner Kleinwort, who lost their jobs in June. The rival German bank scrapped its equity prop desk after it made big losses last year.

Admittedly, Deutsche may not take quite such drastic action, but bonuses could still be affected. And again, the ghost of Dresdner's desk may prove pertinent - before axing its equity prop traders Dresdner reportedly delayed paying them bonuses unless they met stringent performance targets.