Commerzbank Establishes Subsidiary in Brazil

FRANKFURT, Germany, September 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Plans in place to launch business operations in the first quarter of 2016  

Target market comprises SMEs as well as major and capital market companies  

Harald Lipkau will be General Manager of Commerzbank subsidiary in São Paulo  

Commerzbank has been given the official go-ahead by the Brazilian Central Bank (BACEN) to set up a subsidiary in São Paulo. It is now expected that business operations for the target group of small and medium-sized enterprises as well as major and capital market companies will be launched in the first quarter of 2016. "Even though the growth momentum in Brazil has slowed recently, the country still remains the seventh largest economy in the world and is by far the most important economy in Latin America and thus a major economic partner for Germany and Europe. Even in times of volatile markets, it is important for our Mittelstandsbank, the market leader in Germany for SMEs, to have a local presence to support our customers outside Germany," says Bernd Laber, Divisional Board Member International of the Corporate Banking segment ("Mittelstandsbank").

Harald Lipkau will take on the position of General Manager of Commerzbank in Brazil. A native of Brazil, he started his career in his home country and, after progressing through various positions, was most recently responsible within Commerzbank for financial institutions in Asia.

Around 1,400 German companies are currently represented in Brazil, of which approximately 900 are located in the metropolitan area of São Paulo. The majority of these companies are already customers of Commerzbank in Germany. It is now planned to serve their local units through the new Commerzbank subsidiary in São Paulo. A total of around 50 staff will be available locally for these customers.

Commerzbank plans to offer its comprehensive range of corporate and investment banking services in Brazil. Commerzbank will serve European companies operating in Brazil, and also provide support for international companies aiming to do business in Europe.

About Commerzbank   

Commerzbank is a leading international commercial bank with branches and offices in more than 50 countries. The core markets of Commerzbank are Germany and Poland. With the business areas Private Customers, Mittelstandsbank, Corporates & Markets, and Central & Eastern Europe, its private customers and corporate clients, as well as institutional investors, profit from a comprehensive portfolio of banking and capital market services. Commerzbank finances more than 30 per cent of Germany's foreign trade and is the unchallenged leader in financing for SMEs. With its subsidiaries comdirect and Poland's mBank it owns two of the world's most innovative online banks. With approximately 1,100 branches and approximately 90 advisory centres for business customers, Commerzbank has one of the densest branch networks among German private banks. In total, Commerzbank boasts approximately 15 million private customers, as well as 1 million business and corporate clients. The Bank, which was founded in 1870, is represented at all the world's major stock exchanges. In 2014, it generated gross revenues of almost €9 billion with an average of approximately 52,000 employees.

Disclaimer  

This release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. In this release, these statements concern inter alia the expected future business of Commerzbank, efficiency gains and expected synergies, expected growth prospects and other opportunities for an increase in value of Commerzbank as well as expected future financial results, restructuring costs and other financial developments and information. These forward-looking statements are based on the management's current plans, expectations, estimates and projections. They are subject to a number of assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and developments to differ materially from any future results and developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include the conditions in the financial markets in Germany, in Europe, in the USA and other regions from which Commerzbank derives a substantial portion of its revenues and in which Commerzbank holds a substantial portion of its assets, the development of asset prices and market volatility, especially due to the ongoing European debt crisis, potential defaults of borrowers or trading counterparties, the implementation of its strategic initiatives to improve its business model, particularly to reduce its NCA portfolio, the reliability of its risk management policies, procedures and methods, risks arising as a result of regulatory change and other risks. Forward-looking statements therefore speak only as of the date they are made. Commerzbank has no obligation to update or release any revisions to the forward-looking statements contained in this release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.

Press contact:

Martin Halusa +49-69-136-85331
Kirsten Böddeker +49-69-136-85466