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AFP
Germany’s second-largest lender Commerzbank could slash around a fifth of its staff in the coming years as part of a billion-euro restructuring programme, a German newspaper said.
Chief executive Martin Zielke is to present his vision for the bank’s future up to 2020 — including some 9,000 job cuts — to fellow board members on Friday, according to business daily Handelsblatt. Zielke has yet to decide whether to achieve the cuts through redundancies or other means, the newspaper reported.
The CEO’s scheme reportedly also includes the bank waiving its dividend in 2016 — a first since the 2008 financial crisis and following a 20-cents-per-share payout in 2015.
Commerzbank refused to comment to Handelsblatt on the report.
Like other German banks, Commerzbank suffers from low eurozone interest rates, tougher bank regulation in the wake of the financial crisis, fierce competition in its home market and the arrival of new digital actors from the financial technology sector.
In the wake of the financial crisis, the government bailed out Commerzbank in 2008 and again in 2009. Berlin remains a sizeable shareholder, with a 15-percent stake.
In 2016, the Frankfurt-based institution counts around 51,300 employees.
Shares in the lender fell by 4.1 percent on Monday to land at 6.05 euros by close of trade.