{"date":"2025-05-14T00:00","headerImageUrl":"https://structuredproducts-ch-pub-uat.leonteq.com/product-news/product-homepage-banner/commerzbank_leonteq-structured-products_product+homepage+banner.jpg","subTitle":"Explosive Annual General Meeting","windowTitle":"Commerzbank","category":"underlying-in-focus","title":"Commerzbank","body":"On Thursday, May 15, the Annual General Meeting of Commerzbank will take place at the RheinMain Congress Center in Wiesbaden. At first glance, the conditions for a harmonious shareholders\u2019 meeting appear favorable: Shortly before the event, Commerzbank shares are trading at their highest level in nearly 14 years. Since New Year\u2019s Eve 2024 alone, the DAX-listed stock has gained nearly two-thirds in value. Now, there\u2019s an additional \u201cbonus\u201d for shareholders: The meeting will vote on increasing the 2024 dividend by EUR 0.35 to EUR 0.65 per share. And yet, the event could become heated. After all, no less than the independence of the German financial institution \u2014 with a history spanning over 150 years \u2014 is at stake. Unicredit has set its sights on Commerzbank. The Italian bank holds 9.49% of the shares and has secured access to an additional 18.59% through derivatives. Both the European Central Bank and the competition authorities have approved increasing the stake to just under 30%. At Commerzbank itself, the advances from the Milanese rival are not well received. Management views them as hostile, and employees are also less than enthusiastic. The Verdi union plans to express its displeasure with a demonstration in front of the Wiesbaden congress center on the day of the AGM.<\/p>\n\n<div><generic-chart title=\"Commerzbank (in EUR)\"> \n    <chart-line title=\"Commerzbank\" path=\"Chart_coba.csv\" format=\"date, number\"><\/chart-line> \n    <x-axis type=\"datetime\"><\/x-axis> <\/generic-chart><\/div>\n<footer>Source: Refinitiv, As of: 13.05.2025<br />Historical data is not a reliable indicator of future performance.<\/footer>\n\n<h3>Record Operating Results<\/h3>\n<p>It remains unclear whether, and in what way, Unicredit will use the event to its advantage. Bettina Orlopp, CEO of Commerzbank, expects the major shareholder to attend: \u201cBut we don\u2019t actually expect anything beyond that \u2014 at least nothing has been brought to our attention,\u201d she said during a conference call on the latest quarterly figures. With the interim report, Commerzbank confirmed its strong operating performance. The company increased net profit in the first three months of the year by 11.7% to EUR 834 million. Analysts had expected a decline in profits. \u201cWe achieved the highest quarterly profit since 2011, demonstrating that we can grow even in economically challenging times,\u201d the CEO noted. Operationally, the Frankfurt-based bank posted a record quarterly result of EUR 1.2 billion, benefiting from a 12% increase in revenues to EUR 3.1 billion. The majority of this came from a slightly reduced net interest income. Meanwhile, Commerzbank grew net commission income in Q1 by 6.4% to EUR 1.01 billion.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Ambitious Goals<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cThe start to the second quarter was strong,\u201d Orlopp stated. Accordingly, she is sticking to the forecast for 2025. Among other targets, Commerzbank aims for a net income of around EUR 2.8 billion before restructuring costs \u2014 EUR 100 million above the record profit achieved in 2024. The cost-income ratio is expected to drop by 2 percentage points to 57% this year. By 2028, the CEO aims to bring this down to just 50%. Net profit is projected to rise to EUR 4.2 billion by then, while the bank is targeting a return on equity of 15%. For comparison, the figure stood at 9.2% in 2024. These targets were announced at the Capital Markets Day in mid-February. The strategy presented on that occasion includes continued digitalization and an increased use of international locations \u2014 an approach that entails job cuts in Germany. The CEO describes the measures of recent months as a \u201cstrategy of independence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<div>\n    <generic-chart title=\"Commerzbank: Shareholder Structure (in %)\">\n        <pie-chart \n        path=\"Grafik_coba-en.csv\" \n        format=\"string, number\" />\n    <\/generic-chart>\n<\/div>\n<footer>Source: Commerzbank. As of: Mai 2025<br />Historical data is not a reliable indicator of future performance.<\/footer>\n\n<h3>Interesting Risk-Reward Profile<\/h3>\n<p>Orlopp is receiving support from the political sphere. Germany\u2019s new finance minister, Lars Klingbeil, called Unicredit\u2019s approach unfriendly and unacceptable. \u201cThat\u2019s especially true when it comes to a systemically important bank like Commerzbank,\u201d the SPD politician stated shortly after taking office. With a stake of 12.11%, the Federal Republic of Germany is the largest single shareholder in the financial institution. Unicredit knows that no takeover can happen without Berlin\u2019s approval. Accordingly, the Italians want to \u201center into constructive dialogue with the new federal government.\u201d However, they don\u2019t expect a decision this year. Holders of the new Softcallable Barrier Reverse Convertible can view the struggle over Commerzbank with relative calm. Regardless of the future share price, investors receive a quarterly coupon payment. In CHF, the payout is 12% p.a. For the EUR-denominated version, the coupon is 200 basis points higher. The barrier is set at a low 59% of the initial level. As long as Commerzbank shares do not fall to or below this level in the next 18 months, investors will receive full nominal repayment. If the buffer is not enough, the partial protection expires, and the investment becomes directly tied to the performance of the underlying asset. Due to the softcallable feature, early redemption of this issue is possible.<\/p>\n\n<p><h3>Traders Take Note:<\/h3> Leonteq is now offering leveraged products on Commerzbank. Mini-futures and knock-out warrants are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, allowing for short-term positioning in this dynamic underlying asset. Commerzbank shares are thus part of Leonteq\u2019s major push in the Swiss market for leveraged products.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Callable Single Barrier Reverse Convertible<\/h3>\n<div>  \n    \n    <SavedSearch :allProducts=\"false\" :filter=\"{&quot;partner&quot;:&quot;LEONTEQ&quot;,&quot;currencies&quot;:[],&quot;issuers&quot;:[],&quot;productCategories&quot;:[],&quot;productGroups&quot;:[],&quot;productTypes&quot;:[],&quot;maturityRangeKey&quot;:[],&quot;distanceToBarriers&quot;:[],&quot;barrierLevelRanges&quot;:[],&quot;strikeLevelRanges&quot;:[],&quot;underlyings&quot;:[],&quot;omni&quot;:&quot;\\&quot;CH1292092488\\&quot;&quot;,&quot;conditions&quot;:{&quot;+snapshot.product.secondary_market:true&quot;:false,&quot;&quot;:true,&quot;+snapshot.product.in_subscription:(\\&quot;LEONTEQ\\&quot;)&quot;:false,&quot;-_exists_:snapshot.product.in_subscription&quot;:false},&quot;marketVenues&quot;:[],&quot;assetClasses&quot;:[],&quot;barrierTypes&quot;:[],&quot;countrySpecificTitles&quot;:[],&quot;sortFields&quot;:[],&quot;displayColumns&quot;:[&quot;coupon&quot;,&quot;underlying&quot;,&quot;barrierPercentage&quot;,&quot;currency&quot;,&quot;lastTradingDate&quot;,&quot;tenor&quot;,&quot;bidAsk&quot;,&quot;subscriptionEndDate&quot;,&quot;valor&quot;,&quot;documentLinks&quot;]}\">\n                <\/SavedSearch>\n  <\/div>\n\n<h3>Leverage products on Galderma<\/h3>\n<div>\n    <div>  \n        \n                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            \n            <leverage-saved-search :columns=\"[ 'engine.isin', 'engine.valor', 'Type', 'Direction', 'engine.underlying', 'engine.currency-abbr', 'Strike', 'Leverage', 'Ratio', 'engine.maturity', 'Bid', 'Ask']\" :filter=\"{&quot;conditions&quot;:{&quot;+calendar.firstTradingDate:[* TO now/d]&quot;:true,&quot;-identification.status:EXPIRED&quot;:true},&quot;underlyings&quot;:[&quot;186255044&quot;]}\" />\n  <\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n    <ltq-button color=\"primary\" url=\"https://structuredproducts-ch.leonteq.com/leverage/Wqd?language_id=1\" label=\"Discover our Leverage Products!\"><\/ltq-button>\n<div>      <p>We look forward to answering all of your questions about our products and how they are traded. Please don't hesitate to get in touch! Phone: <a href=\"tel:+41588001111\">058 800 11 11<\/a>, email <a href=\"mailto:info@leonteq.com\">info@leonteq.com<\/a> or <a href=\"/contact\" title=\"Contact\">contact us here<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n  <\/div>","url":"underlying-commerzbank","investmentThemeVerticalImageUrl":"https://structuredproducts-ch-pub-uat.leonteq.com/product-news/sidenav-banner/commerzbank_leonteq-structured-products_sidenav+banner.jpg","thumbnailUrl":"https://structuredproducts-ch-pub-uat.leonteq.com/product-news/thumbnail/commerzbank_leonteq-structured-products_thumbnail.jpg"}