FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The turnaround in interest rates helped Commerzbank achieve a record profit last year. Net profit climbed from a good 1.4 billion euros to just over 2.2 billion euros within a year, as the bank, which returned to the DAX almost a year ago, announced in Frankfurt on Thursday. The bank thus achieved its best result in 15 years. Experts had expected a profit of this magnitude.

Group CEO Manfred Knof announced that the bank would "increase the Group result again in the current year". Knof had tightened the savings course after taking over at Commerzbank at the beginning of 2021. The bank cut thousands of jobs and significantly reduced its branch network in Germany.

However, Commerzbank's profit could have already been considerably higher in 2022 if it had not been for the more than one billion euros in charges from the Polish subsidiary mBank, including in connection with Swiss franc loans. Special charges of around 1.1 billion euros in Poland also depressed earnings last year.

In the coming years, more business with wealthy private customers and additional digital offerings for corporate customers should bring Commerzbank even higher profits. The Board of Managing Directors aims to increase net profit to around 3.4 billion euros by 2027.

Shareholders should also benefit: For the financial years 2022 to 2024, Commerzbank, whose largest shareholder has been the German state since it was bailed out with billions in taxpayers' money during the 2008/2009 financial crisis, has earmarked a total of three billion euros for dividends and share buybacks. For the 2023 financial year, the bank intends to benefit its shareholders with around one billion euros./ben/zb/DP/zb