Most important events of 2008

Acquisition of Dresdner Bank Commerzbank becomes the leading bank in Germany for private and corporate customers.

Acquisition of Dresdner Bank Commerzbank becomes the leading bank in Germany for private and corporate customers.

Q1/08

Commerzbank brought its public finance business under one roof by merging Hypothekenbank in Essen with Eurohypo at the start of the year. Central and Eastern European business was also restructured and consolidated into one segment encompassing all activities in the region.

In February the bank posted a record result for 2007. The consolidated surplus rose by 20% to €1.9bn. Return on equity improved from 14.5 to 15.4%. Our business model, which targets SME and private customer business, proved itself again.

Q2/08

Following the Annual General Meeting in May, the longstanding Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors, Klaus-Peter Müller, abdicated his position to become Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Martin Blessing became the new Chairman of the Commerzbank Board of Managing Directors.

The bank fared well over the first half of the year in spite of a worsening business environment. By the end of June, the Group had gained almost 300,000 private customers. This brought the total figure to just under 5.8 million. The volume of our customer deposits also continued to grow.

 

Q3/08

At the end of August Commerzbank announces a two-phase acquisition of Dresdner Bank. This makes us the leading bank in Germany for private and corporate customers. At the beginning of September the bank increases capital by €1.1bn in a matter of hours as part of the sum required for the acquisition.

Following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in mid-September the situation on the financial markets deteriorates dramatically. The markets are more volatile than ever and prices fall on the international exchanges. Government rescue packages for the financial sector are passed all over the world.

Q4/08

Commerzbank raises its core capital through a silent participation by SoFFin to keep pace with increases posted by international competitors benefiting from government aid. The bank also launches a new credit programme for the German SME sector. Since the beginning of 2008, the volume of SME credit grows at a double-digit rate to €46bn. This places us clearly in pole position.

In November, Commerzbank and Allianz initiate the complete acquisition of Dresdner Bank in one step. As a result Commerzbank becomes the sole owner of Dresdner Bank in January 2009, significantly earlier than originally planned. Commerzbank closes a difficult 2008 with a slight consolidated surplus.

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