FRANKFURT (AFP) - Commerzbank, Germany's fourth-largest bank, plans to slash 450 jobs in its investment bank, a third of the division's workforce, a source close to the situation told AFP.
The downsizing at Commerzbank Securities will eliminate about 200 jobs in London, or 40 percent of staff, and about 50 jobs in Frankfurt, or about 10 percent of staff, the source said, confirming a report in the newspaper Handelsblatt.
A spokesman for Commerzbank refused to comment on the information, pointing out that the bank had scheduled a news conference next Tuesday to unveil the details of a restructuring plan for its investment banking activities.
According to Thursday's edition of Handelsblatt, citing sources within the banking industry, Commerzbank was planning to close the offices of ComSec in New York and Tokyo and downsize the offices in London and Frankfurt.
It will cut a total of 450 jobs, of which about 200 are in London and 50 in Frankfurt, the report said.
ComSec will then be headed by Nicholas Teller, currently head of the corporate client division, Handelsblatt said. The former head of the investment banking division, Mehmet Dalman, resigned from his post several weeks ago to launch his own investment fund.
Commerzbank chief executive Klaus-Peter Mueller was expected to announce the new strategy for investment banking following the disclosure of third-quarter figures on Tuesday.
11/04/2004 - 10:20 GMT - AFP