Image copyright Getty Images

Deutsche Bank said it expects litigation costs of €1.5bn in the first quarter.

Germany's biggest lender did not give any details about the legal bill.

However, the bank is expected to be hit with fines resulting from a number of investigations by regulators in the US and the UK.

It added that it expects to be profitable in the quarter and will report near record quarterly revenues on 29 April.

Deutsche Bank set aside €3.2bn at the end of 2014 in litigation reserves.

At the same time it outlined another €1.9bn in potential risks and indicated it faced an additional €4.8bn in mortgage repurchase claims.

Regulators are looking into allegations that the bank was involved in the rigging of benchmark interest rates, including Libor.

It has also been probed over alleged attempts at manipulation of the foreign exchange market and over alleged violations of US sanctions on Iran.

US and UK regulators may announce a settlement with Deutsche Bank as soon as Thursday, Reuters reported.