FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank is comfortable with consensus forecasts for the third quarter, the lender’s finance chief said on Wednesday, as he played down speculation of a possible merger.

James von Moltke, CFO of Germany's Deutsche Bank is pictured in Frankfurt, Germany, February 2, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski

Speaking at a financial conference in London, Chief Financial Officer said the bank was “broadly comfortable” with the views of analysts of its income before income tax (IBIT).

The consensus forecast for IBIT on Deutsche Bank’s website is 327 million euros ($384.8 million) on a reported basis and 677 million euros on an adjusted basis.

He also said he expected the quarter’s costs to “round down” rather than up. Analysts estimate costs for the quarter to come to 5.45 billion euros, according to the consensus.

Asked about speculation about a possible merger, von Moltke said: “I have to say these days we are constantly amazed at what passes through the editorial filters and gets into the press.”

German business daily Handelsblatt had cited sources as saying that Deutsche Bank had considered a theoretical merger with UBS to study the effects of any tie-up.

Earlier this month, Der Spiegel reported that executives of Deutsche Bank and Germany’s Commerzbank were increasingly open to the idea of a merger.

The overall economic backdrop is good for the banking industry, and some uncertainty in the markets is good for Deutsche Bank, von Moltke said.

Deutsche Bank was focused on lifting its operating margin over the coming quarters, he said.

($1 = 0.8499 euros)