Commerzbank AG

LONDON & FRANKFURT: Commerzbank has released a comprehensive whitepaper that explores the potential of application programming interface (API) technology to encourage collaboration and facilitate sustainable supply chains through digital ecosystems, positioning businesses to adapt to the sustainability focused landscape.

The whitepaper, titled “How API based ecosystems can serve circular economy”, looks at the role of APIs as facilitators of data exchange and how this technology can be deployed by financial institutions – and their clients – to enable more sustainable business models. It explains how, by aggregating complex data from various sources, APIs can provide the building blocks for solutions such as digital ecosystems. This method of data distribution is crucial, reveals Commerzbank, if corporates are to meet their sustainability targets, comply with regulators, and transition to a more circular economy.

The paper highlights the immediate need for API-enabled digital ecosystems, stating: Ecosystems based on APIs are going to be integral in the transformation from traditional economy models into new business models, as they are founded through collaboration. They will not only allow for sustainable services but also the reusing and sharing of already established competencies and services between participants – as in a circular economy business model.

“We are convinced that the challenges of today cannot be solved alone. We all need to collaborate to develop circular business models embracing the idea of true sustainability,” said Christoph Berentzen, Head of API Banking at Commerzbank. “Banks have always been committed to answering clients’ evolving financing needs with the right lending products and we are now seeing demand for embedded finance services – supplementary services to development such as digital ecosystems. This is something Commerzbank is currently working on and prioritising in our API banking cluster, and we are looking to offer more and more open banking solutions.”

Alexander Pawellek, Principal Product Owner responsible for digital innovation and strategy in trade finance at Commerzbank added: “Currently, market players all hold valuable data, but the system landscape is fragmented. The timely sharing of relevant information would deliver cost and time savings while also opening up new business opportunities. Such a solution is not created overnight – it is established by taking small, concrete steps.”

With this in mind, Commerzbank has also developed a prototype digital ecosystem, the Sustainable Supply Chain Platform, to provide a working example of how APIs can best be applied to solve sustainability reporting challenges with supply chains. The aim of the prototype is to bring together partners from trade and sustainability finance to identify potential synergies. The platform will allow ESG ratings providers, for instance, to share data on the ratings of certain suppliers. Using the API-enabled platform, buyers would be able to instantly assess whether their own supply chain is a sustainable one.

To learn more, or to get involved, visit: developer.commerzbank.com/

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Press contact
Claire Tappenden +44 20 74755161

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About Commerzbank
Commerzbank is the leading bank for the German Mittelstand and a strong partner for around 28,000 corporate client groups and around 11 million private and small-business customers in Germany. The Bank’s two Business Segments – Private and Small-Business Customers and Corporate Clients – offer a comprehensive portfolio of financial services. Commerzbank transacts approximately 30 per cent of Germany’s foreign trade and is present internationally in almost 40 countries in the corporate clients’ business. The Bank focusses on the German Mittelstand, large corporates, and institutional clients. As part of its international business, Commerzbank supports clients with German connectivity and companies operating in selected future-oriented industries. Following the integration of comdirect, private and small-business customers benefit from the services offered by one of Germany’s most advanced direct banks combined with personal advisory support on site. Its Polish subsidiary mBank S.A. is an innovative digital bank that serves approximately 5.5 million private and corporate customers, predominantly in Poland, but also in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In 2021, Commerzbank generated gross revenues of some €8.5 billion with almost 46,500 employees.

Disclaimer and Forward-Looking Statement
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, 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.

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