Intensifying concerns about Deutsche Bank’s financial health caused its shares to drop on September 26 and pushed the company into the awkward position of publicly denying that it had sought help from the German government.

Shares of Deutsche Bank, one of the world's largest banks and a linchpin of Europe's financial system, tumbled 7.5% in European trading, closing at €10.55 ($11.85), their lowest price in decades. They have slid 53% this year, whittling Deutsche Bank's market value to about $16 billion, roughly the size of regional US lenders like Fifth Third Bancorp and M&T Bank Corp.