The FINANCIAL -- Two years after announcing the takeover of Dresdner Bank, Commerzbank has successfully implemented its new joint brand. Only 18 months after the merger took place, the integration process is therefore already to a large extent complete.
Since the beginning of the second half of 2010, all segments are working within the new, integrated organizational structure. This has already been the case in the Corporates & Markets segment, the customer-oriented investment banking business, since the start of the year. All managers and employees have thus assumed their roles within the new bank.
Many integration objectives have been achieved earlier than planned. Around 1,600 branches and other buildings, including more than 700 former Dresdner Bank locations, have now been rebranded with the new corporate design, and since mid-June all customers can take advantage of basic services such as deposits and transfers at all of the bank's branches. Synergies will already amount to around EUR 1.1 billion by the end of the year, exceeding original expectations by 10%. As announced, total synergies of EUR 2.4 billion will be achieved, taking full effect from 2013.
"We are completing our tasks step by step, and we are still well within schedule. For our customers, the new joint bank is already a reality," said Martin Blessing, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors of Commerzbank, at the Handelsblatt annual congress 'Banks in Transition' ('Banken im Umbruch'). According to a recent survey by TNS Infratest, customer approval for the new Commerzbank remains high. Nine out of ten customers say that the merger was positive or neutral for them personally.
"In August, we achieved an important milestone for the merger of the IT systems on schedule, with the largest roll-out of software in the history of Commerzbank. We have thereby put in place the necessary conditions for migrating the business and customer data of the former Dresdner Bank to the Commerzbank systems and processing them there," said Frank Annuscheit, responsible for Group Services in the Commerzbank Board of Managing Directors. ¿To do so, we significantly increased system capacity and ensured that it was fit for the future. We want to complete the IT integration process in the second quarter of 2011 as planned." Within Germany, former Dresdner Bank customers will in general keep their usual account numbers and sort codes.
"We are making good progress on integration in all areas. It has long ceased to matter in our day-to-day teamwork whether someone used to be part of the 'green' or 'yellow' world. Our employees are finding that the integration process is transparent and fair. That has repeatedly been confirmed by our internal surveys," said Ulrich Sieber, responsible for Human Resources and Integration in the Commerzbank Board of Managing Directors.
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