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Commerzbank Plans To Raise Capital, Repay State Bailout Cash
Tom Burroughes
6 April 2011
Commerzbank, the German banking group bailed out by the country’s government after the credit crunch, said today that it plans to repay about €14.3 billion (around $20.4 billion) in state aid by June this year, an amount higher than some media speculation had suggested. The Frankfurt-listed bank – Germany’s second biggest banking group – has had to sell off a number of private wealth management operations, including the UK’s Kleinwort Benson, under European Union rules governing state aid and competition. Commerzbank plans a capital increase of €8.25 billion and Germany’s bank-rescue fund, Soffin, will convert silent participations into €2.75 billion of shares, it said. The bank will also redeem silent participations of €3.27 billion with excess regulatory capital.