Deutsche Bank is giving away its 34.6% stake in Gerling, the loss-making German insurer, to the company's owners, after writing off the stake's value in its first quarter results.

Deutsche Bank reported a 43% increase in underlying pre-tax profits from corporate and investment banking in the first quarter, but the German banking group still slumped to a €219m ($249m) net loss. It wrote down €638m of losses in equity investments including the stake in Gerling.