The feud between Commerzbank and its second-largest shareholder in the next round. After the Chairman of the Supervisory Board Stefan Schmittmann has rejected in a letter of demand to the financial investor Cerberus, according to two Seats on the Supervisory Board and an Advisory mandate in a written, clearly more politely formulated question, after Cerberus again.
Hanno Mußler
editor in the economy.
F. A. Z.
In his second letter within a week, the Monday evening the 15. June is announced, prior to the throws of the financial investor to the Commerzbank Board of managing Directors according to information from the F. A. Z. once again, he will not achieve his in the year 2016 for the years up to 2020, set revenue and cost targets. It is believed that at its core is an implementation deficit. Cerberus is afraid that this “implementation problem” will persist, even if the Commerzbank should soon submit a further revised strategy.
Less return on equity than planned
Indeed, the Commerzbank failed recently with the sale of the Polish M-banking and direct Bank, Comdirect, the Bank’s Hedge-Fund Peter’s Advisors had to pay more than planned. 2019 Commerzbank reached around 600 million euros of profit, which is not the planned return on equity of 6, but less than 3 percent. For this year analysts expect because of the low interest rates and the expected credit losses by the Corona-crisis loss.
The Chairman of the Supervisory Board Stefan Schmittmann has admitted in his the F. A. Z. this letter to Cerberus, that neither the managing Board nor the Supervisory Board considered the profitability of the Commerzbank is satisfactory. Schmitt, a man does not bring the miss of goals, however, with the strategy of Commerzbank or its not decided enough to be pursued for implementation, but with a “steady deterioration of the business environment for banks in Germany” in connection.
Schmittmann also in view, in a “strategy update” this summer would have incorporated many suggestions from Cerberus. Cerberus is not expected to the meet. Thanks to his package of shares of more than 5 percent of the Cerberus may request an extraordinary General meeting. But the shareholder does not exercise this right.
critique of Cerberus consent
Instead, finds Cerberus wants to increase apparently due to the public debate, the pressure on the Commerzbank Board of managing Directors and other shareholders to support changes in the management Board and the Supervisory Board to advertise. It might not help that Cerberus calls for, apparently, no longer a lucrative consulting job at Commerzbank. At least, this claim is not repeated in the second letter, while it is in the first letter to something cryptic available.
