Deutsche Bank's share capital consists of common shares issued in registered form without par value. Under German law, no par value shares are deemed to have a “nominal” value equal to the total amount of share capital divided by the number of shares. The Group's shares have a nominal value of € 2.56.
Common share activity was as follows:
| Number of shares | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 |
| Common shares outstanding, beginning of year | 585,446,954 | 614,475,625 | 614,600,765 |
| Shares issued under employee benefit plans | - | 285,800 | 5,054,400 |
| Shares retired | (40,000,000) | - | - |
| Shares purchased for treasury | (464,939,509) | (474,184,113) | (447,045,982) |
| Shares sold or distributed from treasury | 484,569,718 | 444,869,642 | 441,866,442 |
| Common shares outstanding, end of year | 565,077,163 | 585,446,954 | 614,475,625 |
Shares purchased for treasury consist of shares held for a period of time by the Group as well as any shares purchased with the intention of being resold in the short term. In addition, beginning in 2002, the Group launched share buy-back programs. Shares acquired under these programs are deemed to be retired or used for share-based compensation. The 2002 program was completed in April 2003 resulting in the retirement of 40 million shares. The second buy-back program started in September 2003. All such transactions were recorded in shareholders' equity and no revenue was recorded in connection with these activities.