Commerzbank AG — Earnings Release 2001

Oct 15, 2001

News Details

Ad-hoc | 15 October 2001 14:54

Commerzbank AG english

Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– Commerzbank launches extensive restructuring and cost-cutting measures – Two new board members In the months of July and August, Commerzbank registered a negative after-tax result of about Euro 120m overall, the bank’s chairman, Klaus-Peter Müller, told its supervisory board on October 15. As the very difficult business environment also rules out a more optimistic forecast for September, the bank’s board of managing directors assumes that the result was again negative. Not only was earnings performance weak, but also risk provisioning was stepped up. As things stand, however, the bank expects to achieve a net profit for the present year as a whole that will enable it to pay a dividend. In order to secure a rapid improvement in earnings performance, the board of managing directors has presented an extensive restructuring and cost-cutting offensive for 2002, which is to be implemented immediately. Apart from substantial savings on non-personnel costs, it entails a reduction of roughly 3,400 in the bank’s workforce by 2003. As far as possible, the downsizing will be realized in a socially acceptable manner, largely making use of normal staff turnover and flexible working-time models. The supervisory board was informed of all the planned measures, which in 2002 will bring operating expenses down to last year’s level – i.e. around Euro 5.5bn. The supervisory board also appointed two new members to the board of managing directors with effect from November 1: Martin Blessing (38), until August chairman of Advance Bank, and Mehmet Dalman (43), up to now head of Commerzbank’s securities department. Dr. Heinz Hockmann (49) is leaving the bank’s board of managing directors by mutual agreement and Dr. Norbert Käsbeck (59) is doing so for health reasons. end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 15.10.2001 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 803200; Index: DAX Listed: Amtlicher Handel in Berlin, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart; Schweizer Börse (Hauptsegment); London, New York (ADR), Tokio 151454 Okt 01