Deutsche Bank's management has reached a pay deal with unions for thousands of workers at its Postbank division, putting an end to months of wrangling, both parties said on Thursday.

The bank will pay employees 11.5% more in a two-step raise, they said. That is less than the 15.5% unions had been demanding, but in return, Deutsche Bank agreed to rule out forced layoffs through December 2027.

The agreement clears up one of several hurdles facing Germany's largest lender at its Postbank brand.

Deutsche recently disclosed it could be on the hook for up to 1.3 billion euros ($1.39 billion) in a long-running lawsuit claiming it underpaid for its purchase of Postbank during the financial crisis.

Deutsche has also been grappling with customer service problems

at Postbank, resulting in the bank's regulator overseeing a clean-up and cuts in bonuses for some of Deutsche's top managers.

 

($1 = 0.9349 euros) (Reporting by Tom Sims; editing by Matthias Williams)