Commerzbank AG (CRZBY)

[Enterprising Investor]

Commerzbank Ready to Take Losses on Asset Sales, CEO Says (6/06/13)

Commerzbank AG, Germany’s second-largest lender, said it is willing to take losses when selling assets as part of a plan to boost capital levels.

Commerzbank would be ready to take such losses if the sales released sufficient capital or helped the bank lower the funds it has to set aside for soured loans, Martin Blessing, the lender’s chief executive officer, said today in a speech to investors at a conference in New York.

Commerzbank is in “intense and advanced” talks to sell a portfolio of commercial real estate loans in the U.K., Blessing said without identifying potential buyers.

The lender is ready to take “a little bit more of a price hit” if it can sell whole portfolios in countries such as the U.K. to avoid the cost of firing the staff, Blessing said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Comfort in Frankfurt at [e-mail]