Commerzbank profits plunge

FRANKFURT: Germany’s second-largest lender Commerzbank booked net profits down more than 74 per cent in 2016, financial results released on Thursday showed. The bank’s 279 million euros ($298 million) net profit beat the 222 million forecast by analysts surveyed by Factset, but fell far short of the almost 1.1 billion-euro result it reported in 2015. Lower profits had been on the cards for the lender since it forecast only that it would not post a loss as it released its third-quarter results last year. At 1.4 billion euros, operating profit lost 28 per cent, while revenues showed a more modest drop, falling around 4.0 per cent to 9.4 billion euros. — AFP