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Commerzbank chief executive Manfred Knof will leave Germany’s second- largest listed lender next year after completing a single term at the helm of the partially government-owned bank, it announced on Tuesday evening.
The departure of the 59-year-old, who joined from rival Deutsche Bank in early 2021 on a five-year contract due to expire in December next year, comes after the German government this month announced it was planning to gradually sell down its 16.5 per cent stake.
On Tuesday, Germany’s finance agency said it was disposing of 53mn shares in the bank through a placing to institutional investors, cutting its holding in the bank to 12 per cent.
The state, which rescued Commerzbank during the global financial crisis in 2009, will remain the lender’s largest shareholder.
Knof has been credited with overseeing a successful turnaround of the bank, which had long struggled with bloated costs, tepid growth and meagre returns on equity.
Under his watch, Commerzbank cut one in three jobs in its German home market and halved its branch network.
Knof also kicked off the first share buybacks in the bank’s 154-year history and presided over the resumption of dividend payments in 2022 after a four-year hiatus and last year paid out the highest dividend since 2018.
Commerzbank’s share price has almost tripled since the start of his term.
The bank said on Tuesday that Knof told Commerzbank’s chair Jens Weidmann that he did not intend to seek an extension of his contract.
“He will fulfil his contract, which runs until the end of December 2025, but won’t be at the disposal of Commerzbank beyond that date,” the bank said, adding that the search for a successor would start “immediately”.
Commerzbank’s chief financial officer Bettina Orlopp is seen as a strong potential internal candidate, according to people familiar with the matter.
According to people with direct knowledge of the matter, Knof changed his mind several times over the past year about whether he wanted to seek a second term or potentially serve for a further period of less than five years.
Knof signalled earlier in the summer that he had come down in favour of seeking an extension but subsequently reversed that decision after consulting with the chair.
Knof declined to comment through a spokesperson.
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