Commerzbank

This article is about the bank headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. For other companies with similar names, see Commerce Bank.

Commerzbank AG

Type	Aktiengesellschaft (FWB: CBK)
Industry	Financial services
Founded	26 February 1870
Headquarters	Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Key people	Martin Blessing (CEO and Chairman of the executive board), Klaus-Peter Müller (Chairman of the supervisory board)
Products	Retail, commercial and commercial real estate banking
Operating income	€1.386 billion (2010)[1]
Profit	€1.430 billion (2010)[1]
Total assets	€754.30 billion (end 2010)[1]
Total equity	€28.66 billion (end 2010)[1]
Employees	59,100 (end 2010)[1]
Subsidiaries	Eurohypo, Dresdner Bank, Bank Forum
Website	www.commerzbank.com

Commerzbank AG is the second-largest bank in Germany, after Deutsche Bank, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main.

Activities

Commerzbank is mainly active in commercial bank, retail banking and mortgaging. It suffered reversals in investment banking in early 2000s and scaled back its Securities unit. The investment banking unit was rebuilt later under the banner of Corporates and Markets. The new investment banking unit was hugely successful in many areas including fixed income, commodities, FX and Funds of Hedge Funds (COMAS)^[2] Investment banking, capital market, equities, and corporate banking operations are now integrated as a division of the Commerzbank group.^[3]

Commerzbank holds a nationwide network of branch offices throughout Germany and numerous branch offices in the EU and Europe (namely London, Luxembourg, Poland, Spain and Switzerland) and with a leading market share in online banking. EuroHypo is an integral part of Commerzbank.

The bank holds representations and holdings in various commercial and financial centers in Asia and the Americas.

History

The headquarters tower

Commerz Systems in Francfort (builduíng called Golden House)

Commerzbank was founded in 1870 by individual and merchant bankers in Hamburg, Germany. After merging with Berliner Bank, it moved its headquarters to Berlin in 1905. After World War II, the headquarters first moved to Düsseldorf and, in 1958, to Germany's financial centre, Frankfurt.

The Commerzbank Tower (designed by British architect Norman Foster) was Europe's first ecological skyscraper and also, from its completion in 1997 until 2004, Europe's tallest skyscraper at a height of 259 meters.

Commerzbank was the first German bank to establish a branch in New York City in 1971, however this office was significantly scaled back in 2004 with the demise of its investment banking unit, Commerzbank Securities.

In August 2008, Commerzbank announced that it would purchase 100% of Dresdner Bank for 5.5 billion Euro, largely with shares.^[4] Dresdner Bank was legally merged with Commerzbank on 11 May 2009 and ceased to be an independent entity.^[5]

December 2008 - January 2009. The German Government is supporting Commerzbank with a loan of up to 18.2 Billion Euros.

Subsidiaries

• ComDirect Bank^[6]

In 2009, Dresdner Bank merged into Commerzbank, bringing with it the Dresdner Kleinwort subsidiary^[7]

In 2010, Commerzbank reneged on pay commitments to Dresdner staff^[8]

• Collegium Glashütten^[9]

EuroHypo AG^[10]

Trivia

• The Commerzbank Tower was featured as a default background for the Motorola RAZR cell phone.

See also

• Inter-Alpha Group of Banks

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Annual Results 2010" (PDF). Commerzbank. https://www.commerzbank.de/media/en/aktionaere/service/archive/konzern/2011/Abschluss_31122010.pdf. Retrieved 24 February 2011. 
2. ^ Commerzbank Buy Threatens Dresdner Kleinwort Future - Mergers and Acquisitions - CNBC.com^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Commerzbank.
4. ^ Robinson, Gwen (2 September 2008). "Dresdner deal raises concerns". Financial Times. http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2008/09/02/15512/dresdner-deal-raises-concerns/. Retrieved 2008-09-03. 
5. ^ "Dresdner Bank merged into Commerzbank" (Press release). Commerzbank. 11 May 2009. https://www.commerzbank.com/en/hauptnavigation/presse/pressemitteilungen/archiv1/2009/quartal_09_02/presse_archiv_detail_09_02_5610.html. Retrieved 08 April 2011. 
6. ^ http://www.comdirect.de/
7. ^ "The new Commerzbank". About Us. Commerzbank. https://www.commerzbank.com/en/hauptnavigation/konzern/die_neue_commerzbank/Die_neue_Commerzbank.html. Retrieved 8 April 2011. 
8. ^ "Commerzbank Cancels Most Dresdner Kleinwort Bonuses". The Wall Street Journal. 18 February 2009. http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2009/02/18/commerzbank-cancels-most-dresdner-kleinwort-bonuses/tab/comments/. 
9. ^ http://www.collegium-glashuetten.de/
10. ^ http://www.eurohypo.com/en/site/website/index.php

External links

• Official website

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