Monday, December 27, 2021
Difficult year expected
Commerzbank is making money again
Germany’s second largest financial institution is still in the middle of the renovation. Nevertheless, Commerzbank is in the black. For the coming year, the bank expects more headwinds due to high inflation and higher prices for energy and real estate.
Commerzbank is preparing for headwinds in the new year. “2022 will not only be a challenging year because of the Corona crisis”, CEO Manfred Knof told the “Handelsblatt”. “Inflation is weighing on many of our customers, especially the rise in energy and property prices.” In addition, there are still supply chain problems and major geopolitical risks as a result of the pandemic.
Germany’s second-largest private bank, however, sees itself well prepared for impending loan defaults and also wants to take advantage of growth opportunities. “In the private customer segment, we will continue to expand the securities business and construction financing,” announced Knof. “We also expect very solid business with German medium-sized companies in terms of granting loans and placing bonds.”
Commerzbank is in the middle of the renovation, 10,000 jobs are to be cut by 2024. After a loss of 2.9 billion euros in 2020, the institute is now back in the black, according to Knof. The manager has been running the bank for a year. “It is a great success that we will report a positive result in 2021 despite restructuring expenses of one billion euros,” he said. The management board will therefore not forego a bonus, but the decision lies with the supervisory board.