Deutsche Bank shares soared over 10% on the Frankfurt stock exchange today, driven by speculation it may be considering a bond buyback programme to help ease concern about its funds.
Shares in Germany's biggest lender had shed around 13% over the previous two sessions on Monday and Tuesday.
But this morning they topped an intra-day high of €14.75 in late morning trade - a jump of 11.5% on the day. They eventually closed up 10.2%.
Media reports have suggested it is considering a bond buyback, but the bank was not immediately available to comment.
Deutsche Bank bosses face a formidable task to drag its shares off a 30-year low.
Reassurances about its capital levels have done little to improve investor confidence and it has few other options on the table to trigger a recovery.
The bank has trailed its rivals in bouncing back from the 2008 financial crisis, hamstrung by having to pay out billions of dollars in fines to end a string of legal disputes and ageing technical infrastructure.
It is the last of the major European banks to embark on a painful restructuring of its bloated investment bank, in the face of tougher regulation that reduced profitability.
The cost of that overhaul contributed to it posting its biggest annual loss on record last month.
Deutsche Bank's shares have fallen around 40% since the start of the year, leading a slump across the European banking sector.
Shareholders are worried about the ability of the bank's management to execute a two-year turnaround plan, announced last October, against the backdrop of a deteriorating global economic outlook and negative interest rates.
Several investors told Reuters they feared Deutsche would need to tap markets for more capital - despite raising a total of nearly €20 billion from investors in 2010 and 2014 - to deal with regulatory and legal issues.
Deutsche Bank declined to comment on its capital position when contacted by Reuters.
But the bank's co-chief executive John Cryan wrote to employees yesterday, telling them they could reassure clients the bank's capital position was"absolutely rock solid".
"The market also expressed some concern about the adequacy of our legal provisions but I don't share that concern. We will almost certainly have to add to our legal provisions this year but this is already accounted for in our financial plan," he added.
But several investors said they felt time was running out for the bank to show successes - such as returning to profit or stabilising its share price - after other large lenders had moved on and closed the chapter of financial crisis.
A share price slide of this magnitude - Deutsche's market value has roughly halved from a year ago to around €19 billion - would normally trigger speculation that it could become a takeover target.
But Cryan recently met members of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government.
Sources close to the ruling coalition said that while the government has no direct means to deter potential suitors, Deutsche Bank enjoyed some protection as it is regarded by many Germans as a part of the national identity.
"We do not worry too much about a possible takeover of Deutsche Bank," Cryan said at the bank's annual press conference in late January, adding that regulators would also likely frown at the combination of two large banks.
