18/06/2013
On June 18, 2013 Commerzbank successfully placed a Public Sector Pfandbrief with a volume of
EUR 500 million in the capital market. Institutional investors showed high interest, the issue was 2-times oversubscribed. This is Commerzbank AG’s first Pfandbrief issue. The benchmark bond has a maturity of 5 years and a coupon of 1.00 % p.a.
The Public Sector Pfandbrief is meant to refinance the long-term core business in Commerzbank’s Mittelstandsbank. To this end, export financings guaranteed by Germany’s export credit agency (ECA) Euler Hermes are acceptable as collateral for the cover pool.
The ratings agencies Moody's and Fitch have already announced that the Public Sector Pfandbrief of Commerzbank is to be given a customary high rating for Public Sector Pfandbriefe. From Moody’s the Bank expects a rating of Aa1, from Fitch a rating of AAA.
“The transaction strengthens the competitiveness in Commerzbank’s core business and underlines our ambitions to grow in the area of export financing” said Martin Fischedick, Divisional Board Member for Corporate Banking in the Mittelstandsbank segment. “Public Sector Pfandbriefe can also contribute to sustainably support the export oriented industry by providing longer-term liquidity. This is because they help to acquire foreign orders even in a more difficult economic environment.”
Commerzbank received the licence to issue Public Sector Pfandbriefe and Ship Pfandbriefe from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) when the integration of Deutsche Schiffsbank into Commerzbank became effective. Initially, the licence allowed Commerzbank to continue the issuing activity of Deutsche Schiffsbank AG. Commerzbank is now actively using this instrument for the first time so as to diversify its long-term funding.
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About Commerzbank
Commerzbank is a leading bank in Germany and Poland. It is also present worldwide in all markets for its customers as a partner to the business world. With the business areas Private Customers, Mittelstandsbank, Corporates & Markets and Central & Eastern Europe, it offers its private and corporate clients as well as institutional investors the banking and capital market services they need. With some 1,200 branches Commerzbank has one of the densest branch networks among German private banks. In total, Commerzbank boasts nearly 15 million private customers, as well as 1 million business and corporate clients. In 2012, it generated revenues of just under EUR 10 billion with approximately 56,000 employees on average.
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Disclaimer
This release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. In this release, these statements concern the expected future business of Commerzbank, efficiency gains and expected synergies, expected growth prospects and other opportunities for an increase in value of Commerzbank as well as expected future financial results, restructuring costs and other financial developments and information. These forward-looking statements are based on the management’s current expectations, estimates and projections. They are subject to a number of assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and developments to differ materially from any future results and developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include the conditions in the financial markets in Germany, in Poland, elsewhere in Europe and other regions from which Commerzbank derives a substantial portion of its revenues and in which Commerzbank holds a substantial portion of its assets, the development of asset prices and market volatility, in particular as a result of the ongoing European debt crisis, potential defaults of borrowers or trading counterparties, the implementation of its strategic initiatives to improve its business model, particularly to reduce its public finance portfolio in Private Customers, the reliability of its risk management policies, procedures and methods, risks arising as a result of regulatory change and other risks. Forward-looking statements therefore speak only as of the date they are made. Commerzbank has no obligation to periodically update or release any revisions to the forward-looking statements contained in this release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.
