The German central bank, the Bundesbank, has launched an investigation into Deutsche Bank following claims that it lost billions on credit derivatives during the financial crisis.  Investigators from the Bundesbank are scheduled to fly to New York next week as part of an inquiry into allegations that misvaluing credit derivatives allowed Deutsche to hide up to $12 billion in losses, which helped it avoid a government bailout.  The investigators will interview people, including former employees, who have knowledge of Deutsche’s credit derivatives dealings between 2006 and 2009.  It is alleged that had the proper valuations been made on the positions during the relevant period, the losses for the whole portfolio would have exceeded $4 billion and could have risen to $12 billion.

Deutsche Bank has denied the allegations and stated that the allegations were “more than two and a half years old,” and had been the subject of a thorough investigation, which found them “wholly unfounded.”