Commerzbank reported its strongest first-nine-month result in the company’s history, with net profit rising by more than 40% to around €2.7 billion. That exceeds the roughly €2.6 billion it earned in all of 2025. The bank is maintaining its full-year target of at least €3.4 billion in profit, which would mark a record.

Business remained strong in the third quarter, when net profit reached €859 million, up more than 45% from a year earlier. Chief Executive Bettina Orlopp said the performance demonstrated the potential within Commerzbank.

The earnings report arrives as UniCredit moves closer to taking control of the Frankfurt-based bank. The Italian lender has secured access to nearly half of Commerzbank’s shares and recently received approval from the European Central Bank’s banking supervisor for a control takeover. Commerzbank says preparations for consolidation have begun. Orlopp said the banks could create value by making use of their respective strengths.

UniCredit chief executive Andrea Orcel has argued that combining the banks could deliver savings worth billions of euros, including by reducing Commerzbank’s international network. Commerzbank is also cutting costs: it announced plans in February 2025 to eliminate 3,900 full-time positions by the end of 2027, mainly in Germany. A further program announced in May 2026 aims to remove around 3,000 additional full-time roles across the group by 2030.

Commerzbank said about 1,800 employees have already agreed individual arrangements for an orderly transition, while more than 1,100 have opted for a new voluntary phased-retirement program. At September 30, the group employed 40,390 full-time staff worldwide, including 25,091 in Germany.

Germany’s federal government, the bank’s second-largest individual shareholder with a stake of just over 13%, has said Commerzbank must continue to play an important role in financing small and medium-sized businesses if a takeover goes ahead. Orcel has sought to reassure customers, saying the combination would not mean providing less support to German companies.

UniCredit expects the remaining regulatory approvals for its takeover plan in the coming weeks. Commerzbank expects clearances during the fourth quarter or, at the latest, by early 2027. Orcel has said he wants to replace Commerzbank’s leadership, and an extraordinary shareholder meeting in late January or early February 2027 has been reported as a possibility.

Sources: Handelsblatt.