Deutsche Bank, which was forecast to report weak third-quarter earnings due to bad loans, has surprised the market with bigger-than-expected loss but its credit ratings look set to be confirmed by the biggest rating agencies.

Deutsche reported a pre-tax loss of €181m ($179m), against analysts' predictions of a similar amount of profit. Lower revenues, higher bad loan provisions and a net loss from equity investments hit the bank's bottom line and more than offset cost reductions.