Commerzbank ratings remain driven by the bank’s proven track record of a successful turnaround of its business since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008 and its merger with Dresdner Bank. Following those difficult years management has been able to materially de-risk the bank and re-establish a more dynamic business structure, with promising potential for improving profitability.

Due to its already relatively lean set up, we believe Commerzbank is in a good position to successfully implement a newly announced restructuring plan and to potentially outperform some of its peers.

During the implementation of the new restructuring plan, Commerzbank’s outlook on profitability will remain rather subdued. General trends in the credit quality of the bank seem favourable, but the ship financing portfolio in the bank’s workout segment still provides some challenges. Although, a planned reduction of trading activities and active management of risk weighted assets will provide some capital relief.

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