Commerzbank embarks on revamp as loss deepens to record level
Germany’s second biggest bank reported a record $3.3bn fourth-quarter loss on Thursday as it continued to absorb the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Shares in Commerzbank fell nearly 6 per cent in mid-morning trade.
Commerzbank said it would swiftly introduce plans to cut 10,000 jobs and close hundreds of branches in a bid to strive for profit in 2021.
While one in three jobs will be lost in Germany, the bank will add 2,500 roles outside the country to cut costs, mainly in Eastern Europe.
It hopes the revamp will revive its fortunes as it reshuffles its strategy.
Knof to lead recovery
The results come a week after Commerzbank CEO Manfred Knof finalised plans for a radical overhaul.
He is due to make his first public appearance as CEO at a news conference on Thursday.
Knof said: “We want to be sustainably profitable and shape our own destiny as an independent force in the German banking market.”
Commerzbank said that depending on the behaviour of the pandemic, it expects provisions of between €800m and €1.2bn in 2021, compared to €1.75bn in 2020.