Scrutiny of Paschi Trade Was Tough, Deutsche Bank Executive Tells Court

The highest-ranking Deutsche Bank AG executive to testify over a suspicious trade with Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA said the deal was legitimate and carried risk, and was not designed as a sure-fire bet to hide losses at the Italian bank, as prosecutors allege. Deutsche Bank approved the trade, dubbed Santorini, at the height of the credit panic in the autumn of 2008. The attention paid to risk was at its highest then as losses piled up left and right, Michele Faissola, a former managing director and head of global rates at the time of the deal, said in testimony in Milan on Thursday.