Founded in 1870, Commerzbank is one of the three largest banks in Germany, with total assets of about 420 billion euros at the end of 2004.Main business of the company: bank.The company's services include personal customers, international private banks, group companies, international banking relations, and bank investment.
On November 12, 2014,Bank of ChinaWe signed an agreement with Commerzbank, the second largest bank in Germany, to provide RMB payment for customers directly from Frankfurt in the future.[1]
Commerzbank(Commerzbank), established in 1870, is one of the three largest banks in Germany, with total assets of about 844.103 billion at the end of 2009euro。The headquarters is currently located inFrankfurt, German stock indexDAXOne of the ingredient companies.In terms of asset size, the bank is the second largest bank in Germany, after Deutsche Bank.Eurohypo, a professional real estate bank, is a subsidiary of the bank.
German Commercial Bank was founded by a group of businessmen in 1870hamburg , moved toBerlin, once moved after World War IIDusseldorf, moved to Frankfurt in 1958.In August 2008,Lehman BrothersBankruptcy - one month before the financial crisis broke out, German Commercial Bank announced to purchase one of Europe's top investment banks with 9.8 billion eurosDresdner BankAll shares have made New German Merchants subject to the dual impact of M&A and financial crisis.After the merger of the two banks, New German Commercial Bank surpassed Deutsche Bank in the number of customers and domestic outlets.
The bank's traditional strength is trade financing, and it has been rated as the best in the German parent market for two consecutive yearsSME Bank。After the merger, Dresdner Bankinvestment bankAfter being downsized, the Department was integrated with the relevant departments of the German Commercial Bank to form a new investment banking department, Companies&Marketsfinancial centerFor example, there are offices in London, New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, etc.
German Commercial Bank set up its Shanghai branch in 1993, and became the first group to obtain a comprehensive RMB business license in 2000Foreign banks。The current office of Shanghai Branch is located inLujiazuiA global financial center with Beijing and Tianjin branches in the mainland (closed in 2019)[6]。In addition, a large number of investment banks have been retained in Hong Kong and Singapore.
development history
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Initial stage
On February 26, 1870, the Commercial Bank was established in Hamburg, mainly toChamber of CommerceBusiness people, commercial bankers and private bankers.In 1873, the Commercial Bank set up a branch, London and the Chamber of Commerce Bank, untilthe First World WarIt was still open at the time of the outbreak.It is worth mentioning that when Germany occupied Qingdao, it set up a special branch in Qingdao, which was managed by Qingdao's rich men and the German Governor. Later, it lost Qingdao in the first battle, and its branch in Qingdao was also split.In 1897, branches were established in Frankfurt and Berlin.Take over in 1905Berlin After the People's Bank of China, commercial banks concentrated their main commercial activities onCapital BerlinNot Hamburg.Within a few years, commercial banks had become one of the most important banks in Germany.
Early 20th century
In the early 20th century, commercial banks maintained a rapid pace of development and merged many other banks and opened many branches. The most important of those merged banks included Mitteldeutsche Private Bank, which was merged in 1920 and built in Magdeburg. Later, commercial banks were called private commercial banks.In 1929, it merged Mitteldeutsche Credit Bank, a major local bank in Frankfurt.After the banking crisis in 1931, the German government asked private commercial banks to merge with Barmer Bank.
During the banking crisis in Germany, the German government obtained many shares of private commercial banks, which were returned to private investors in 1937.A few years later, in 1940, private banks restored the well-known name of commercial banks.
During World War II
staythe Second World WarDuring this period, commercial banks opened some branches in the German occupied areas.After 1945, in the Soviet Union and Democratic Germany, commercial banks lost 45% of their business.
In West Germany, between 1947 and 1948, the Allies forced commercial banks to disintegrate into several small banks.In 1958, these small banks, which came from the disintegration of commercial banks, were merged again.Germany's economic recovery (also known as the economic miracle) has also led to the development of the banking sector.Like other banks, commercial banks have also started their own personal savings business.
later stage
In the 1950s, commercial banks opened many agencies abroad, and in the 1960s, they opened branches in different regions. For example, in 1969, the Commercial Bank International SA. In 1971, New York Branch was established, which was the first German bank in the United States. During this period, commercial banks opened more than 60 branches in 45 countries.Commercial banks also started business with other European banks through joint stock cooperation.As a World Bank, the business of a commercial bank includes personal savings business, collective savings business and investment business. At the same time, it provides special services through different branches, such as leasing, fund management, real estate, asset investment, etc.Among these branches are Rheinische Hypotheken Bank and Hypotheken Bank in Essen, which is one of the direct correspondent banks with great influence in Europe and is currently developing business in the field of online banking.The main business activities of commercial banks are in Germany and other parts of EuropeNorth and South America, Asia.SinceEastern European UnionAfter reaching an agreement, commercial banks gradually expanded their business activities to Central and Eastern Europe.
On November 12, 2014,Bank of ChinaWe signed an agreement with Commerzbank, the second largest bank in Germany, to provide RMB payment for customers directly from Frankfurt in the future.[1]
On March 17, 2019, Commerzbank of Germany released a news thatDeutsche Bank AGReach consensus and agree to start negotiations around potential merger plans[2]。On April 25, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank announced the termination of merger negotiations.[3]
On September 4, 2024, it was reported that the German government planned to reduce its shares in German Commercial Bank.[7]
In September 2024, German financial institutions announced that Yushin Bank would purchase 53.1 million shares or 4.49% of the shares of German Commercial Bank from the German government at a price of 13.2 euros per share, involving 702 million euros.Yuxin Bank will become the third largest shareholder of Commerzbank, and the latest German government shareholding ratio is 12%.[8]
The Road to Innovation
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Until the second half of the 1990s, German Commercial Bank, founded in 1870, followed the wave of universal banks sweeping the world, and constantly expanded its corporate business scope, entering the business fields of SME financing, real estate finance, corporate finance, securities trading, private banking, asset management, etc.Among them, the innovation of SME financing business is unique.
First, innovate bank customer relationship and financial products.In order to expand SME customers, Commerzbank of Germany has set up a full-time manager team for SME customers to help the bank transform the original products for large enterprise customers into products that meet the needs of SMEs.For example, according to the customer needs fed back by the customer manager, in order to enable SMEs customers to also obtain the convenience of direct financing in the capital market, German commercial banks have lowered the threshold of bill financing business - the original bill financing is only applicable to large customers and transactions of more than 20 million euros, and the new bill financing will be applicable to transactions of 500000 to 5 million euros.In addition, we also designed and developed a multi bank fund management system for small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition to basic cash settlement and fund management services, the system also gradually increased information such as industrial information, news and stock market information release, and cooperated with some external institutions to provide other value-added services.
Second, actively change the role from "lender" to "loan broker".While expanding customer channels, German commercial banks are also expanding the source of loan funds.On the basis of making full use of government power and external cooperation, German Commercial Bank launched a special "active loan" activity for SMEs in 2003, and establishedSME loansAnd cooperate with other banks to lend to small and medium-sized enterprises.In addition, in order to reduce the asset burden, German commercial banks also tried to sell SME financing bills by means of securitization. In 2006, the first batch of 400 SME financing bills were sold by securitization (the sales scale was 10 million 50 million euros), and then a total of 200 million euros of SME convertible bonds were sold by securitization.
After the securitization channel was blocked, German commercial banks began to expand syndicated loan channels.In 2008, the Bankers' Association for Finance and Trade (BAFT) passed a new agreement, which simplifies the sharing of trade between banksFinancing riskAnd make it possible to finance trade under the cooperation of syndicates.Under this agreement, the German Commercial Bank opened a letter of credit with a total amount of 1 billion euros in 2008, and then gave full play toStructured financingAbility to "distribute" most of these risks.
Through securitization, syndicated loan arrangement and credit risk distribution, German commercial banks have realized the role transformation from a pure fund provider to a loan intermediary, which not only helps the majority of SMEs customers to obtain more funding sources, but also helps other banks and investors to approach SMEs, identify risks and find opportunities.
Third, innovate the intermediary business of SMEs.The uncertainty of SMEs' business operation determines the high risk of their business operation.In addition to changing the role of lender, German Commercial Bank also innovated the intermediary business of SMEs to reduce risks and improve profits.
Fourth, in addition to traditional corporate business, German Commercial Bank also provides interest rate, exchange rate risk management products and annuity products for SMEs through its Commerzinvest.In 2001, it further established a subsidiary, Pensor Pensionsfounds AG, to provide low-cost simplified annuity services for SMEs.During the financial crisis in 2007 and 2008, enterprises' awareness of risk management increased and their demand for risk management products and services increased significantly, which became an important means for German commercial banks to stabilize their performance in the adverse market.
Fifth, the in-depth contact with SMEs has also won many investment banking business opportunities for German commercial banks other than direct loans.In 2005, Conergy AG, as the lead underwriter of German Commercial Bank, was rated as the best SME financing in Europe. In 2008, the company also underwrote the renewable energy enterprise Manz AutomationRoth&Rau, Solar Millennium's additional issue financing, as well as the follow-up financing business of Fresenius, a life science company, and IFM Immobilien AG, a commercial real estate company, became the lead underwriting bank of SMA Solar Technology AG, the only IPO in Germany that year.
Sixth, in addition to issuing and underwriting, German commercial banks also launched innovative corporate financial services for SMEs, including mergers and acquisitionsAsset securitizationStructured M&A financing and structured tax-free products.
In 2003, in response to the high debt ratio of SMEs, the German Commercial Bank set up a subsidiary to provide mezzanine financing services, that is, a compound financing variety combining asset mortgage financing and equity related financing,Financing periodThe loan term is longer than that of ordinary banks, 57 years, to meet the capital needs of growing SMEs.In addition, the company also set up four financial engineering teams to customize and design the financing structure for SMEs. This year, the company completed 10 mergers and acquisitions with the help of structured financing arrangements.
Seventh, German commercial banks have broken through the tradition in SME financing and innovated leasing financing business.In 2004, German Commercial Bank expanded its equipment leasing business into the field of financial leasing to help SMEs achieve off balance sheet financing. The scope of leased items includes intangible assets such as machinery and equipment, transportation tools, IT systems, and even intellectual property rights.Since then, German Commercial Bank has introduced online leasing for small enterprises.In the financial crisis, enterprises chose to lease rather than buy, and the scale of equipment leasing business bucked the market and increased by 17%.
Asia Pacific Headquarters
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German commercial banks have business in more than 50 countries all over the world, and more than 20% of their loan business comes from overseas. Following its acquisition of Germany's second largest bank, Dresden Bank in 2008, German commercial banks have the most intensive branch network among German private banks, with the number of branches reaching 1200.In Poland, German Commercial Bank also holds 70% of the shares of BRE Bank, the third largest financial institution in Poland.In 2010, German commercial banks turned losses into profits, achieving the best performance in the past years and a profit of 1.4 billion euros.
German Commercial Bank was established in Hamburg in 1870 and has a history of 50 years in Asia. It established a representative office in Beijing in 1981, opened branches in Shanghai and Beijing in 1994 and 1997 respectively, and further opened a Tianjin branch in 2009.In October 2010, the RMB business of Beijing Branch was approved.At present, Shanghai is the Asia Pacific headquarters of German Commercial Bank's corporate banking business.
Honors won
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On May 13, 2020, Commerzbank ranked 692 in the 2020 Forbes Global 2000.[4-5]
