The federal government has begun the announced sale of its stake in Commerzbank. Around 53.1 million Commerzbank shares from the Financial Market Stabilization Fund (FMS) will be placed with major investors in an accelerated process, the Finance Agency of the Federal Republic of Germany announced. Accordingly, the FMS’s share will fall from around 16.5 percent to 12 percent
Last week, the federal government announced that it would gradually withdraw its stake in Commerzbank. The state had used a lot of taxpayers’ money to save the major Frankfurt bank, which had swallowed up the struggling Dresdner Bank in the middle of the global financial crisis, from collapse. Commerzbank received capital aid of 18.2 billion euros from the FMS in 2008 and 2009. According to the finance agency, around 13.15 billion euros have been repaid so far.
Even after the current share sale, the state remains the largest single shareholder in the DAX group. Apart from certain exceptions, no further Commerzbank shares will be sold for 90 days, the finance agency further announced.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240910-930-228857/1
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