FRANKFURT: Deutsche Bank's chief executive said on Tuesday it was premature to say how the lender might aid the banking unit of collapsed payments service provider Wirecard.

Germany's largest bank said last week that it was working with financial watchdog BaFin and Wirecard's insolvency administrator on possible support for Wirecard Bank.

On Tuesday, Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing said it was "too early to judge" how the bank may step in.

"We all now need transparency and that's the first task to be done," Sewing said at a webcast event organised by Bloomberg News.

Sewing said that for Deutsche, with its focus on transaction banking, it was "almost an obligation" to look at the Wirecard's bank for opportunities or to stabilise it.

Last week, Deutsche Bank had published a statement that said it was "in principle prepared" to provide support "in the context of a continuation of business operations, if such assistance should become necessary".

Sewing also said Deutsche Bank's exposure to Wirecard was very limited.

Wirecard filed for insolvency last month owing creditors 4 billion euros ($4.51 billion) after disclosing a 1.9 billion euro hole in its accounts that its auditor EY said was the result of a sophisticated global fraud.