LONDON (Dow Jones) -- Deutsche Bank joined Swiss rival UBS in announcing a fresh write-down on Tuesday, citing a shuttered leveraged-loan market as well as exposure to U.S. mortgage-related securities for a hit of 2.5 billion euros ($ 3.9 billion).

The statement from Deutsche wasn't unexpected after the bank had warned of this very possibility just last week.

But ahead of a presentation to investors in London, the German bank put a concrete number on the write-offs, a figure far lower than the $19 billion charge UBS is taking.

"Conditions have become significantly more challenging during the last few weeks," the lender said.

"Reflecting this environment, Deutsche Bank anticipates in the first quarter 2008 mark-downs in the region of 2.5 billion euros, related to leveraged loans and loan commitments, commercial real estate, and residential mortgage-backed securities (principally Alt-A)," it said.

It expects its Tier 1 capital ratio to meet its first-quarter target.

In opening trade, Deutsche Bank (DB) shares edged 0.4% lower, indicating that many in the market were braced for such news.

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires
  04-01-08 0450ET
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