Commerzbank Sets Aggressive Profit Targets and 3,000 Job Cuts to Bolster Independence Bid
18.05.2026 - 11:14:12 | boerse-global.de
The boardroom battle between Commerzbank and UniCredit is set to intensify at Wednesday’s annual general meeting in Wiesbaden, where management will deploy a mix of record payouts, a sweeping cost-cutting plan, and improved quarterly earnings to convince shareholders that independence is the better bet. The Frankfurt-based lender is betting that a 70% dividend hike and a new share buyback mandate, combined with a deep restructuring driven by artificial intelligence, will make the Italian suitor’s all-share offer look increasingly unattractive.
The proposed dividend for 2025 jumps to €1.10 per share from €0.65 the year before, to be paid on 26 May 2026, with an ex-dividend date of 21 May. Shareholders will also vote on authorising the repurchase of up to 10% of the bank’s share capital. Commerzbank has already completed two buyback programmes totalling roughly €1.5 billion since September 2025. The promised total distributions over the strategy period amount to nearly €20 billion — a financial shield the management hopes will lock in investor loyalty.
Underlying the payout ambition is the “Momentum 2030” strategy, unveiled last month as a direct response to UniCredit’s unwanted advances. The plan calls for the elimination of around 3,000 full-time roles across the group by the end of the decade, largely through natural attrition and cutting external contractors rather than compulsory redundancies. Call centres and IT departments are the main areas affected, as the bank accelerates the use of artificial intelligence to automate processes. The cost-income ratio is targeted to fall to 43% from the current 53%.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Commerzbank?
The strategy’s financial goals are equally bold. By 2030, Commerzbank aims to generate net profit of €5.9 billion on revenues of €16.8 billion, pushing the return on tangible equity (RoTE) to 21%. The first-quarter results provide a tailwind: net income rose 9% to €913 million, while operating profit hit a record €1.4 billion. Management responded by lifting the full-year outlook, now expecting net profit of at least €3.4 billion for 2026.
A bright spot is the Polish subsidiary mBank, which has seen a sharp drop in litigation linked to Swiss franc mortgages. Risk provisioning there was halved, and the board expects no significant further burdens this year, removing a key overhang that had weighed on the stock.
Yet the shares already reflect much of the optimism. Trading at around €36.12, the stock is hovering near its 52-week high and has gained more than 41% over the past twelve months. The relative strength index at 81 signals an overbought condition in the near term, suggesting some caution. By contrast, UniCredit’s exchange offer — 0.485 of its own shares for each Commerzbank share — offers no premium to the current market price, leaving holders underwhelmed.
UniCredit already controls nearly 30% of Commerzbank’s shares, but the Italian bank’s approach has drawn sharp criticism from Berlin. Chancellor Friedrich Merz publicly rebuked the tactic, and the Commerzbank board continues to dismiss the proposal as vague and laden with execution risks. Marc Nieding, vice-president of shareholder association DSW, warned that if the promised returns fail to materialise, investors could face a rude awakening. Every operational misstep in the AI-driven restructuring risks reopening the door for Milan.
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