***(changes hed for clarity)*** 

By Andrea Thomas

BERLIN--German Chancellor Angela Merkel sought to keep a low profile on a public debate about possible help for Deutsche Bank AG, a move that signals that the government seeks to end speculation about possible state aid for the struggling lender.

"Deutsche Bank is one part of the German banking and financial sector, and of course we wish all companies, even when they are experiencing temporarily difficulties, to perform well," Ms. Merkel told reporters. "Apart from this, I don't want to comment."

Her remarks came after she was asked whether she believes that the government should come to the rescue of the bank following a sharp drop in Deutsche Bank's share price and other recent developments.

Concern about the lender's capital position ahead of an anticipated legal settlement with the U.S. Justice Department led to a 7.5% drop Monday in the bank's share price. The stock was last trading down 3% at EUR10.23 ($11.51) around midday.

A report over the weekend in the German magazine Focus suggested that Ms. Merkel has ruled out extending state aid to Deutsche Bank before the German national election in September 2017. The report, citing unnamed government officials, led a spokesman for Ms. Merkel to tell reporters on Monday that there was "no need for such speculation."

Write to Andrea Thomas at andrea.thomas@wsj.commailto:andrea.thomas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 27, 2016 08:32 ET (12:32 GMT)