business
Commerzbank names retail division chief as new CEO
Commerzbank head of Business Segment Private Customers Martin Zielke attends the bank's annual news conference in Frankfurt in this February 12, 2015 file photo. German lender Commerzbank today named Zielke as its new chief executive. – Reuters pic, March 6, 2016.Commerzbank, Germany's second biggest bank, said today it would appoint retail division chief Martin Zielke as its new CEO, to replace Martin Blessing on May 1.
Zielke, 53, is the board member in charge of Commerzbank's division dealing with private customers and credited with boosting its retail operations.
Frankfurt-based Commerzbank was severely hit by the financial crisis and had to be rescued by the state, which still holds a 15% stake, but the bank this year reported a strong turnaround.
It said in February its net profits quadrupled in 2015 – to €1.06 billion (RM4.8 billion) from €266 million the year before.
The lender had slashed thousands of jobs and said investment in its high- street banking business was paying off, with underlying profits in that division doubling last year.
Board chairman Klaus-Peter Mueller praised Zielke, saying he had "brought the retail business back on track in an impressive way".
Blessing had last year announced his intention to resign as CEO. – AFP, March 6, 2016. – AFP, March 6, 2016.
Please note that you must sign up with disqus.com before commenting. And, please refrain from comments of a racist, sexist, personal, vulgar or derogatory nature and note that comments can be edited, rewritten for clarity or to avoid questionable issues. As comments are moderated, they may not appear immediately or even on the same day you posted them. We also reserve the right to delete off-topic comments