Commerzbank is to cut 3900 jobs over the next two years as it strives to slash costs and drive profits in the face of a hostile takeover bid by italy's Unicredit.
The majority of the job cuts will affect support functions in Germany as the bank turns to utilising international locations as well as nearshore and offshore subsidiaries to a greater extent than before.
The bank says it will rely primarily on demographic change and natural fluctuations as well as an early partial retirement programme to achive the termination target. The number of employees across the group is expected to remain steady at 36,700 as it moves to source skilled labour from overseas.
The bank estimates restructuring charges of around €700 million before tax effects in 2025, impacting its projected profit for that year, which is expected to fall to €2.4 billion. Nonetheless, Commerzbank has raised its 2027 net profit target to €3.8 billion, up from a previous goal of €3.6 billion.
On the technology front, the bank says it will modernise its payment business and further strengthen its omnichannel approach.
More than 90% of customer contacts are digital, says the bank, and more than 50% of product sales in the Commerzbank brand are concluded digitally. The branch channel will also be modified later this year to offer more personal advisory services.
Measures to accelerate organic growth will be complemented with targeted acquisitions, says the bank. Alongside this, Commerzbank aims to pursue further strategic partnerships, especially with a focus on developing "innovative products, distribution channels, and IT services".
The bank today concluded an greement with Visa as its preferred card payment patner, and has previously signed deals with with Google Cloud and Microsoft with the aim of embracing artifical intelligence models to increase productivity.