COMMERZBANK AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT

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Commerzbank AG
• Following a significant reduction in the Public Finance portfolio in past years, we will
continue our clear reduction strategy in this area in 2012. We are targeting an overall
reduction to below €70bn for the end of 2014.
• In 2012, the focus in Commercial Real Estate is still on the strategic reduction of existing
portfolios. In order to achieve this objective and against the backdrop of increasing capital
requirements, a temporary suspension of new Eurohypo AG business was approved and
implemented in November 2011.
• In Ship Finance, the current fiscal policy challenges in Europe indicate continuing uncertainty
as to market developments, particularly in container shipping. We expect the charter
market in this area to remain weak in the first half of 2012. We may see slightly better
market conditions in the second half of the year depending on the economic situation.
• In Central & Eastern Europe we expect a general economic downturn and subdued
growth in 2012. Despite the gloomier economic outlook, we anticipate continued profitable
loan growth for our subsidiary, BRE Bank, primarily in corporate customer business
and consumer lending. Bank Forum will continue to focus on managing down the portfolio
of non-performing loans while maximising value.
• The regulatory environment for the Corporates & Markets segment will also involve new
challenges during the next two years. Therefore, we adhere to our conservative risk
approach in the trading and banking books.
• The current financial situation of the companies in the Mittelstandsbank has improved
significantly in many respects compared to the financial crisis of 2008/2009. Even so, the
situation of companies will become more difficult and growth will stagnate in 2012 as the
sovereign debt crisis unfolds. Furthermore, there is the trend towards rising commodity
prices, which will have a negative effect on companies in consumer and in the food industry,
for instance. We expect increases in risk density and EL in the portfolio, however
massive portfolio deterioration is not very likely due to the quality and stability of the
corporate portfolio.
• The main emphasis of our activities in Private Customers in 2012 is on ongoing risk-side
support in the generation of new sales potential, particularly in real estate financing and
loans to business customers.
Disclaimer
Commerzbank uses state-of-the-art risk measurement methods and models that are based on banking
sector practice. The results obtained with the risk models are suitable for the purposes of the management
of the Bank. The measurement approaches are regularly reviewed by Risk Control and Internal
Audit, external auditors and the German supervisory authorities. Despite the careful development of the
models and regular controls, models cannot capture all the influencing factors that may arise in reality,
nor the complex behaviour and interactions of these factors. These limits to risk modelling apply particularly
in extreme situations. Supplementary stress tests and scenario analyses can only show examples of
the risks to which a portfolio may be exposed in extreme market situations; stress testing all imaginable
scenarios however is unfeasible. The analyses cannot give a definitive indication of the maximum loss in
the case of an extreme event.