FRANKFURT (Reuters) - There is still some uncertainty over whether Deutsche Bank DBKGn.DE may need to increase its capital, management board member Christian Sewing was quoted as saying in German daily newspaper Handelsblatt.

A statue is pictured next to the logo of Germany's Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, Germany September 30, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo

“There is still some uncertainty. Only when this is gone will be know exactly what our capital resources look like for the long term,” the paper quoted Sewing as saying in an interview published on its website on Monday.

“Currently we fulfill all capital requirements comfortably,” Sewing added.

Chief Executive John Cryan said earlier this month that his preference was still to avoid issuing new capital to strengthen a balance sheet hit by large fines for legacy criminal behavior but said he knew “never to say never”.

Sewing also said the lender needed certainty over future capital requirements before it could decide whether to resume dividend payments to shareholders.

Regulators had planned to strike a deal on the future capital rules - dubbed Basel IV - by early January, but have now postponed a decision until March as they struggle to find a compromise between European and American interests.

The capital rules will also determine whether Deutsche Bank can afford to reintegrate its retail unit Postbank, which sources have said the lender may want to keep rather than sell.

Sewing said Postbank remained up for sale, only for the right price.

“The market environment was not right for it last year, and I’m not certain whether it will be in 2017,” he said.

But when asked whether Deutsche Bank would post a profit in 2017, Sewing said the lender was confident it would return to sustainable profits.

Analysts on average see Deutsche Bank, which is due to publish fourth-quarter financial results on Thursday, posting a 2017 net profit of 1.25 billion euros ($1.3 billion), after a net loss of 668 million for 2016.