Commerzbank Announces €1 Billion Share Buyback After Record Profit Surge
Commerzbank AG (ETR:CBKG) announced plans for a €1 billion share buyback on Thursday, following the strongest nine-month operating profit in the bank’s history. The move highlights the German lender’s robust performance across its key divisions and continued financial stability.
The bank raised its full-year guidance for net interest income to about €8.2 billion and now expects annual consolidated profit to reach around €2.5 billion. Commerzbank reaffirmed its targets for a cost-income ratio near 57% and a Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of at least 14.5% by 2025.
Record Operating Profit and Strong Revenue Growth
Commerzbank’s operating profit climbed to €3.44 billion during the first nine months of 2025 — an increase of €601 million year over year. Total income rose 10.8%, supported by higher commission and trading revenues.
While net interest income dipped slightly by 1.2% to €6.18 billion due to lower rates, net commission income grew 7.7% to €3 billion, driven by stronger securities, syndicated-loan, and foreign-exchange activity.
Operating expenses rose 6.8% to €4.86 billion, mainly reflecting salary adjustments, share-based compensation revaluations, and higher costs at its Polish subsidiary mBank. The bank’s Group risk result showed a modest improvement, with losses narrowing to €515 million from €529 million a year earlier.
Efficiency Ratios and Capital Position
The cost-income ratio was 53.8% excluding compulsory contributions and 56.2% including them, indicating continued efficiency. Consolidated profit attributable to shareholders stood at €1.89 billion, slightly below €1.93 billion in 2024.
Return on tangible equity (RoTE) came in at 8.2%, down from 8.8% the previous year. The CET1 ratio eased to 14.7% as of September 30, compared with 15.1% at year-end 2024, while the leverage ratio slipped to 4.3% from 4.8%.
Commerzbank’s total assets reached €593 billion, marking a 6.9% increase from December 2024, supported by higher lending volumes and repurchase-agreement activity.
ECB Approval and Ownership Developments
The European Central Bank (ECB) and the German Finance Agency approved the share-repurchase plan, which represents Commerzbank’s fifth buyback since 2023. The program is expected to conclude by February 10, 2026, with all repurchased shares to be canceled afterward.
Additionally, Commerzbank will buy back up to €15.5 million in shares for its employee participation program, launched on October 21.
Ownership changes also occurred during the period. On August 25, UniCredit Group disclosed that its voting rights in Commerzbank rose to about 26%, following the conversion of financial instruments. Later, the ECB reduced Commerzbank’s Pillar 2 capital requirement by 10 basis points to 2.15% for 2026, maintaining a comfortable regulatory buffer.
Segment Performance: Retail and Corporate Divisions
The Private and Small-Business Customers division delivered a €1.76 billion operating profit, up €349 million year on year, helped by a sharp decline in mBank’s foreign-currency mortgage provisions.
The Corporate Clients segment earned €1.62 billion, slightly below the prior year, as gains from lending and currency hedging partly offset weaker deposit income.
