Questions over the health of Germany's largest lender loomed large over the start of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Washington, dominating a news conference on risks to global financial stability.

The shaky bank has been teetering since the US Department of Justice in September demanded some $14bn (£10.8bn) to settle claims that Deutsche mis-sold US mortgage-backed securities in the lead-up to the 2008 global financial crisis. The amount is viewed as a major drain on its capital.

Shares fell to an all-time low last week on concern about the future of the bank.

The ministry said the finance minister is also scheduled to engage in a series of discussions with Luis Moreno, president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), Kyle Peters, vice president of the World Bank, and Tao Zhang, deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

Among those in attendance at the Washington meetings, which also include those hosted by the Institute of International Finance banking trade group, will be Deutsche Bank's chief executive, John Cryan, and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.

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Banks will have to adjust by shedding long-standing problem loans, adapting to new regulations and updating business models, it said, adding that nonperforming loans and drags on profit required "urgent and comprehensive action".

The question to focus on now, Union's Engels said, is what Deutsche Bank's strategy will look like in the future, considering low interest rates, and how it would finance a possible settlement and future capital requirements.

Banks need to generate profits to sustain capital levels through adverse economic cycles. Combined with a cyclical recovery, they could boost the share of European banks considered "healthy" to 72% from 17% previous year, the report said.

While many say increases in regulatory capital played a role in weak profitability, the overall return on equity fell by 11.4% for large European banks and 3% for US banks.

Weak profitability in a low-interest-rate, low-growth environment could erode European banks' buffers over time, undermining their ability to support an economic recovery and weakening stability.