By Johanna Urbancik
Published on •Updated
Commerzbank has unveiled plans to cut a further 3,000 jobs while sharply raising its profit targets in a direct response to UniCredit’s takeover ambitions.
The Frankfurt-based lender announced Friday that revenues are set to rise to €16.8bn by 2030, with net profit expected to reach €5.9bn.
Chief executive Bettina Orlopp said the new targets reflect “ambitious and at the same time reliable” growth, adding that “any alternative must be measured against this” — a pointed reference to the Italian bank’s bid.
The additional job cuts will affect around 8% of the current 38,000 jobs. The bank estimates the costs for the restructuring at around €450 million. According to Commerzbank, the increased use of artificial intelligence will also help to make processes more efficient.
Why is this important?
UniCredit formally submitted its takeover bid this week, a voluntary share exchange offer for all outstanding Commerzbank shares, valuing the German lender at just under €35bn.
The Italian bank has been circling Commerzbank since it bought a large stake from the German government in 2024 and subsequently increased it through market purchases to the point where, under German takeover law, it was legally required to make a formal offer.
UniCredit currently holds a direct stake of around 26% in Commerzbank, with an additional roughly 4% held via total return swaps. The bid has set alarm bells ringing in Frankfurt and Berlin and Commerzbank fears a takeover would gut its business model.
The bid has set alarm bells ringing in Frankfurt and Berlin and Commerzbank fears a takeover would gut its business model.
The bank is Germany’s second-largest private lender and a major source of financing for the country’s famed Mittelstand — the small and medium-sized businesses that form the backbone of the German economy.
According to UniCredit’s plans, around 7,000 jobs could be cut in total. Commerzbank does not currently see a takeover as necessary.
In the bank’s view, the plans presented by UniCredit are “vague” and associated with “considerable implementation risks”.
Nevertheless, the bank has stated that it remains open to talks in principle, provided shareholders are offered an attractive premium and key elements of the strategy are retained.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) recently backed Commerzbank and declared that Germany needed strong banks, but that “not every type of takeover” was welcome.
“We firmly reject hostile and aggressive behaviour,” the Chancellor said in Berlin.
According to media reports, it is also being examined whether the federal government could increase its stake in Commerzbank.
The state currently holds around twelve per cent of the shares. In the first quarter, Commerzbank achieved a net profit of €913 million.
According to the bank, it was the best quarterly result since 2011.
