May 19, 2010
Annual General Meeting 2010 votes on options for repayment of SoFFin funds
One of the main topics of today's Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Commerzbank at the Jahrhunderthalle, Frankfurt am Main-Höchst, will be the passing of measures providing the Bank with various options for the repayment of the silent participations (Stille Einlage) held by the Financial Market Stabilization Fund (SoFFin). Additionally, the AGM will decide on various further items.
Klaus-Peter Müller, Chairman of the Commerzbank Supervisory Board, said ahead of the AGM: "2009 was he second difficult year in a row, and not only for the banking industry. However, despite the crisis in the financial markets, the Bank has achieved a lot. This is visible not least in the positive figures for the first quarter 2010 which were announced at the beginning of the month."
With regard to both business development and the implementation of the 'Roadmap 2012' the Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors, Martin Blessing, said: "In 2009 we laid the basis for a successful start to the current year. We reduced risks and forged ahead with the integration. As from June 15 we will be converting all our branches to the new brand, making the new bank tangible for our customers. This is yet another important milestone for us, and up to now we have reached all our milestones for 'Roadmap 2012' - some of them earlier than planned. Last year was a year of investments and that cost money. That is one side of the coin. The other side is, in an improved economic environment, we also initiated a turnaround. The result of the first quarter 2010 shows that earnings have risen, risk provisions are down and costs are under control. We have made significant progress towards full profitability, but we must also state clearly that there is still some distance to be covered to reach normality. The second quarter has also started well and the presentation of the figures for the first six months of 2010 will give an outlook for the year as a whole, but we should not become overconfident.The markets are fragile and the Group will only remain profitable if the development of both the economy and financial markets continues to be supportive."
In line with the recommendations of the Commission of the German Corporate Governance Code (Regierungskommission Deutscher Corporate Governance Kodex), the agenda also tables a non-binding vote by shareholders on the remuneration system for the Board of Managing Directors. Commenting, Müller said: "The originally with SoFFin agreed upon remuneration cap remains valid for 2010 as well according to a decision taken by the Supervisory Board: If the coupon on the SoFFin silent participations for 2010 is not being serviced in full, the total remuneration of the individual members of the Board is limited to €500,000 each, as in 2008 and 2009. I assume that the Supervisory Board will decide on a respective rule to be applied for the time after 2010."
The Bank closed the first quarter of 2010 with an operating profit of €771m. The core bank was profitable and so it is to be assumed for the full year as well. We expect the Group to be back in profit by 2011 at the latest. For 2012 the Bank expects a positive operating income of more than €4bn. By then at the latest the repayment of the SoFFin silent participiations will begin.
The agenda and other documentation for the AGM, as well as a link to a live broadcast of the speeches of the Chairman of the Supervisory Board and the Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors, can be found at www.commerzbank.com/agm.
