Commerzbank Concludes €600 Million Share Buyback Program Successfully

Commerzbank AG announced the successful completion of its €600 million share buyback program, having repurchased 55,554,320 of its own shares. This represents 4.48% of the bank's share capital. Initiated on January 10, the buyback program aimed at an average price of €10.80 per share, leading to these shares being redeemed shortly.

Bettina Orlopp, CFO of Commerzbank, expressed satisfaction over the completion of the bank's second buyback program. She highlighted the success of the program and stated that it strengthens the bank's strategy of blending share buybacks with dividend distributions as part of its capital return approach to shareholders.

The bank also plans to continue rewarding its shareholders by proposing a dividend payment of approximately 35 cents per share for the 2023 fiscal year, awaiting approval at the Annual General Meeting scheduled for the end of April. This would result in a total return of about €1 billion to shareholders, constituting 50% of the net profit after AT1 coupon deductions. For the 2024 financial year, Commerzbank aims for a payout ratio of at least 70%, without exceeding the net result after AT1 deductions.

The first share buyback program was completed in June 2023, with 12,134,305 shares repurchased at an average price of €10.05 per share, totaling to €122 million. This was part of a broader capital return totaling roughly €370 million for the fiscal year 2022.