February 26, 2009
Martin Blessing, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors of Commerzbank and Chief Executive Officer of Dresdner Bank, commenting on the 2008 results of Dresdner Bank, which were announced today:
"Commerzbank closed the Dresdner Bank acquisition in January. The strategic logic of the takeover is and remains intact. We are building the leading bank for private and corporate customers in Germany.
Furthermore the takeover is in the best interests of our economy's future and thus in all of our interests. Markets are challenging; but now the decisions are to be made whether we have the banks that our economy needs, both during and after the crisis.
Dresdner Bank's billions of losses over the past year distract from the fact that the private and corporate customers business and important parts of the investment banking activities of Dresdner Bank are fundamentally healthy.
However, certain parts of the investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort have caused problems. These problem areas will rigorously and systematically be reduced as quickly as possible. We have already been successfully through a comparable process of change once before at Commerzbank.
The crisis persists and we still have a difficult road to travel, but we are sure the new Commerzbank will prevail as a growing and strongly profitable bank."
