DEUTSCHE BANK TO CUT 35,000 JOBS UNDER NEW STRATEGY | Deutsche Bank said it would cut as many as 35,000 jobs over the next two years as part of a strategy to overhaul the German lender, Chad Bray reports in DealBook. The plans came after the bank reported a loss of $6.6 billion in the third quarter. The bank said it would close its operations in 10 countries, move its trading operations in Brazil to other hubs and further centralize back-office operations. It also plans to cut its investment banking clients by about 50 percent, especially in countries with higher operating risk. The bank said it would cut 9,000 full-time jobs internally, elimate 6,000 external contractor positions and cut an additional 20,000 through selling businesses in the next two years. Deutsche Bank is also edging nearer to settling one of the many government investigations it faces, Ben Protess and Peter Eavis report in DealBook.

Deutsche Bank would pay at least $200 million to resolve investigations into its dealings with countries like Iran and Syria, according to officials briefed on the matter. The deal is expected to be announced as soon as next week. The investigations centered on whether the bank’s New York branch processed transactions for clients in those countries in violation of United States sanctions laws. The settlement with New York State’s financial regulator and the Federal Reserve would not put to rest a parallel criminal investigation being conducted by the Manhattan district attorney’s office and the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan. Even so, it would be a relief to the bank that has been trying to mollify its regulatory critics and clear a long docket of government investigations. It recently said it expected to set aside an additional $1.3 billion to cover future legal penalties and is facing investigations into possible money laundering at its Moscow unit and suspected manipulation of foreign exchange rates.

PFIZER AND ALLERGAN CONSIDER MERGER | The drug makers Pfizer and Allergan are considering combining in what could be the biggest takeover of the year, The Wall Street Journal reports. It cites people familiar with the matter who say Pfizer recently approached Allergan. Ian Read, Pfizer’s chief executive, said on Tuesday that he had noticed rival drug companies’ share prices falling. But he added, “I’m not sure there has been a readjustment in what the investors and leaders of those companies believe those companies are worth in a transactional situation.” Other issues at stake include the extent of layoffs, facility closings, the make-up of the new combined company and the fate of the Allergan chief, Brent Saunders. A deal would pool treatments like Botox and Restasis, a remedy for dry eyes, with Pfizer’s patent-protected medicines. It might also pave the way for a breakup of the company, into one business selling patent-protected drugs and another selling off-patent drugs. Allergan might also provide a way for Pfizer to lower its corporate tax rate, as it is based in Dublin. Pfizer already pursued a takeover of AstraZeneca, in a deal structured so that it could move its headquarters overseas.

GOLDMAN TO PAY $50 MILLION OVER FED LEAK | What started as a friendly lunch has ended up costing Goldman Sachs $50 million, Ben Protess reports in DealBook. New York State’s financial regulator announced that it would fine the bank for failing to supervise an employee it had hired from the New York Fed, who obtained confidential documents from a source there. Goldman took the rare step of acknowledging the failure and accepting a three-year ban on access to certain sensitive regulatory information. Banks and regulators routinely hire employees from one another, but this case has given ammunition to critics who fear that this intermingling crosses ethical and legal lines. “This case underscores the critical need for financial institutions to put in place strong controls and policies for employee conflicts screening and the use of confidential regulatory information,” said Anthony J. Albanese, the acting head of the New York State Department of Financial Services. Goldman emphasized that the bank “immediately began an investigation and notified the appropriate regulators” once it detected the leak. The banker, Rohit Bansal, and his source, Jason Gross, agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges, according to lawyers briefed on the matter. They face up to a year in prison and lifetime bans from banking. The plea deals stem from a rare criminal action against a Wall Street employee. After the financial crisis, not one Wall Street chief executive was charged, and prosecutors have charged bankers or traders in only a handful of investigations. Mr. Bansal joined a unit that advises on mergers and other deals when he initially arrived. Although he informed supervisors that ethical restrictions prevented him from advising a particular banking client because he used to oversee it at the New York Fed, Goldman placed Mr. Bansal on the team that advised the bank. The Department of Financial Services said that Goldman “failed to take any steps to screen the associate from such prohibited work.” Soon after, Mr. Gross began to send him confidential information about the bank and other issues — 35 documents in all, including internal Fed memorandums regarding examinations of the bank.

ON THE AGENDA | The Bureau of Economic Analysis releases its first estimate of third-quarter growth at 8:30 a.m. Aetna’s third-quarter earnings call starts at 8:30 a.m. MasterCard’s earnings call starts at 9 a.m. Time Warner holds a conference call to discuss its third-quarter earnings at 10:30 a.m. Starbucks starts its earnings call at 5 p.m and Baidu will discuss its results in an 8 p.m. conference call. Deutsche Bank will provide details of its strategy update at an investor and analyst event at midday.