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COMMERZBANK FOUND ITSELF in an unenviable position last month. One side of the German bank's business is a large securities operation, which is largely based in London and competes with Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, ABN Amro and other big rivals for all the debt, equity and M&A business that one would expect from an investment banking and capital markets house.
And like any other wholesale banking firm, its staff expect hefty bonuses each spring.
The bulk of its business, though, is in Germany, where it is one of the biggest retail and small business banks, as well as a big asset manager. A market share of 3% in retail banking might sound feeble but this is an impressive degree of penetration in a famously fragmented market that boasts about 500 savings banks.
And like any other German retail and business bank, Commerzbank has to offer exceptional service and operate at tiny margins to compete and survive.
Commerzbank is not paying a dividend to its shareholders this year, and after 2003 losses of e2.32