But, he acknowledged, “there is some real social utility to it.”

Still, Deutsche Bank faces a hurdle in finding takers among hedge fund and private equity firms because those firms might be required to provide documentation of their efforts.

In all settlements, a decision to award a bank credit for providing consumer relief to a borrower is determined by an independent monitor. Deutsche Bank’s monitor is Michael J. Bresnick, a partner with the law firm Venable in Washington who is a former federal prosecutor. Settlement monitors, who issue periodic progress reports, have a good deal of latitude in determining whether a bank is in compliance with the terms of the consumer relief provisions.

The rub could come if Mr. Bresnick asks a hedge fund or private equity firm to provide him documentation of its efforts in working with borrowers, which could be a deal-breaker given the penchant for secrecy among the billionaire money managers who run these loosely regulated firms.

Deutsche Bank could still make it attractive enough for hedge funds and private equity firms by providing dirt-cheap financing. For now, it is hard to know because the bank is still in the process of determining exactly how it will comply with the consumer relief portion of its settlement.

Mr. Bresnick is not expected to issue his first progress report until summer.

A Deutsche Bank spokesman declined to comment on its plans for complying with the consumer relief requirement.

No explanation was given in the settlement documents for why Deutsche Bank can get consumer relief credit “for loans that serve as collateral for financing arrangements.” But it may be because the bank is less prepared than, say, Goldman, to do the vetting necessary to scoop up distressed mortgages.