Commerz
By Jann Bettinga
Nov. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Commerzbank AG, Germany’s second-
biggest lender, reported a third-quarter profit that missed
analysts’ estimates as earnings at the retail bank fell.
Net income of 113 million euros ($158 million) compared
with a loss of 1.06 billion euros in the year-earlier period,
the Frankfurt-based company said in a statement today. That
missed the 148.4 million-euro average projection of 12 analysts
surveyed by Bloomberg.
Commerzbank, which bought unprofitable competitor Dresdner
Bank last year to expand its private-client business, is
struggling to boost earnings at the unit. Third-quarter
operating profit at the private bank dropped 40 percent from a
year earlier amid a “weak securities business,” it said.
“I would have expected Commerzbank to benefit more from
the economic recovery,” said Konrad Becker, an analyst at Merck
Finck & Co. in Munich who recommends selling Commerzbank stock.
“The retail bank performed badly.”
Commerzbank fell 0.7 percent to 6.58 euros as of 9:16 a.m.
in Frankfurt trading. The shares have still risen 12 percent
this year, valuing the company at about 7.8 billion euros.
The lender said today that it expects to post net income of
at least 1 billion euros in 2010 under international financial
reporting standards, following a loss of about 4.5 billion euros
last year.
Bad-loan provisions fell to 621 million euros in the third
quarter from 1.05 billion euros a year earlier, Commerzbank
said. That was better than the 669 million-euro average analyst
estimate in a Bloomberg survey. Provisions for 2010 will
probably total less than 2.7 billion euros, the lender said.
‘With a Tailwind’
“In the coming year, loan loss provisions and costs should
decline further,” Chief Financial Officer Eric Strutz said in
the statement. “We are sailing into the next year with a
tailwind and assume that the operating profit for 2011 will be
higher than that seen in 2010.” He didn’t provide figures.
Societe Generale SA , France’s second-largest bank, said
last week that its third-quarter profit more than doubled after
setting aside less money for bad loans. Frankfurt-based Deutsche
Bank AG, Germany’s biggest lender, last month reported third-
quarter results that beat estimates after the investment banking
unit posted higher profit.
Commerzbank was forced to tap Germany for 18.2 billion
euros of aid during the global financial crisis. That included a
capital injection of 16.4 billion euros by the country’s Soffin
bank-rescue fund, known as the silent participation. Commerzbank
didn’t pay interest on the government capital for 2009 because
it posted a loss last year.
Eurohypo Unit
Commerzbank has to sell its Eurohypo property finance
division by the end of 2014 to meet European Union requirements
for approving the state aid. The lender said today that it will
book an impairment related to Eurohypo’s value under German
accounting rules, while this will not be the case under IFRS.
The bank previously said that it depends on the full-year result
under German accounting standards for whether or not it may
start paying interest on state aid for 2010.
Commerzbank’s Tier 1 capital ratio, a measure of financial
strength, was 11.2 percent at the end of September, compared
with 10.8 percent at the end of June, the lender said today. The
so-called core Tier 1 ratio was 9.9 percent.
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision , which
represents central banks and regulators in 27 nations and sets
capital standards for lenders, announced new rules in September
that aim to head off another global banking crisis. The
measures, known as Basel III, more than double capital
requirements, while giving banks several years to comply.
Commerzbank will “compensate for” the impact of Basel III
by cutting assets in non-core bank areas, Strutz said today.