Commerzbank recorded its first annual loss since 2009

According to preliminary results, Commerzbank, the second largest bank in Germany, reported a net loss of almost 2.9 billion euros last year. This is its first full - year loss since the financial crisis in 2009. Commerzbank described the loss as a result of the crisis caused by the new coronavirus pandemic and the restructuring costs associated with job losses and branch closures. The bank, based in Frankfurt am Main, said it had reached an agreement with the unions to cut tens of thousands of jobs and close hundreds of branches by 2024, as it wanted to make more use of online banking and cashless payments. "The planned job cuts are certainly very painful," said Manfred Knof, former head of Deutsche Bank, who took over Commerzbank's leadership last month. Commerzbank added that the redundancies would affect one in three jobs in Germany. According to preliminary results, Commerzbank recorded an operating loss of € 233 million in 2020, compared to a pre-tax profit of € 1.2 billion in 2019. The net loss was € 2.9 billion after a profit of € 585 million in the previous year. Commerzbank's ambitious restructuring strategy should reduce its costs by € 1.4 billion by 2024, or about 20%. The plan includes the closure of 340 of the 790 branches in Germany. Last December, the bank announced that it had set aside a € 610 million reserve to finance job losses. Commerzbank, like its competitors, is trying to adapt to the reduced need for so-called stone branches and is accelerating digitization. Last year, it was also forced to increase reserves for bad loans for blockades to stop the spread of the new coronavirus, for which many companies are struggling to survive. As with other banks, Commerzbank's earnings were affected by years of ultra-low interest rates. The German government still owns almost a 16 percent stake in the bank, which it saved during the financial crisis in 2008-2009. Commerzbank will publish its full income for the previous year on February 11.