Commerzbank CEO declines to extend contract

Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) Chief Executive Martin Blessing will step down from the role next October, the bank said on Sunday, leaving Germany’s second largest lender seeking a new CEO as it comes out of a turnaround.

Blessing has been in charge since May 2008 and had been asked by the board to extend his current contract, which runs out in October 2016, the BBC said. A Finance Ministry spokesman declined to comment on the announcement on Sunday.

Mr Blessing helped the bank recover following the financial crisis.

He still respects, however, Blessing’s decision and “greatly appreciate the success he has achieved as well as his commitment to continue to support the bank in a dedicated manner for the rest of his term”, he said.

“In the first nine months, we have further increased the revenues and the profit, while also significantly strengthening the capital ratio”, said chief executive Martin Blessing. The company has said it is on course to pay a dividend for this year, its first in eight years.

The German government owns just over 15 percent of Commerzbank via the bank rescue fund Soffin.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Blessing’s decision appears to have come as a surprise to the bank’s board, which not have an apparent successor in the wings. His father, Werner Blessing, was on the management board of Deutsche Bank; grandfather Karl was a former president of the Bundesbank; and wife Dorothee leads JPMorgan Chase & Co.in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Commerzbank reports third-quarter earnings on Monday.