FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The shares of Commerzbank are again in high demand among investors. On Thursday, the annual report was well received. The papers rose in the morning as the biggest winner in the also clearly higher MDax at times by a good ten percent to the highest level in almost five years. Most recently, they gained another 8.2 percent to 11.15 euros.

Banks also performed strongly across Europe. The sector was among the favorites of the Stoxx 600 overview with plus 1.3 percent. Rising interest rates are currently one of the main drivers for the sector. In the lending business, this means higher revenues. In addition, since last July, financial institutions no longer have to pay interest when they park money with the European Central Bank (ECB), but instead receive interest again. "With the return of interest rates, banks' profits are also bubbling up," explained capital market strategist Jürgen Molnar of broker RoboMarkets.

Commerzbank is benefiting from these friendlier conditions. Experts praised in first reactions above all the outlook of the Frankfurt for the net interest income. He leaves the market expectations for the results of the bank still significant room for improvement, said analyst Anke Reingen of the Canadian RBC. Kian Abouhossein of JPMorgan also praised the new targets for interest income in particular. He sees Commerzbank on the right track. The outlook is strong, wrote Chris Hallam of Goldman Sachs. As a result, market expectations for the current year are likely to rise.

After Commerzbank earned more than three times as much last year as it did the year before, everything now seems possible again all at once with dividends and share buybacks, said expert Molnar. And with the highly probable return of Commerzbank to the leading Dax index, investors would get an extra bonus on top.

Index experts expect the bank to return to the top German stock market league after gas producer Linde is soon to be dropped from the index due to its future exclusive listing in the USA. The decision on whether Commerzbank will make it back into the Dax on February 27 will be made by Deutsche Börse on Friday evening. A Dax promotion would put Commerzbank even more in the focus of international investors and also analysts in the future.

Despite all the enthusiasm, Commerzbank CEO Manfred Knof put the brakes on his euphoria after the highest profit since 2007. The billion-euro profit in 2022 and the expected return to the Dax should "not be a reason to become overconfident," Knof said. "We know that we still have a long and challenging road ahead of us until we reach the goals we have set ourselves and ideally even exceed them."

Investors weren't really bothered by the slightly more cautious tones. For them, it has been a successful week in which one personnel matter also contributed to their satisfaction. Ex-Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann, for example, is to take over the post of Supervisory Board Chairman. The supervisory body voted unanimously to elect Weidmann as its chairman, provided he is elected to the supervisory board as planned by the annual general meeting on May 31, the group said. Commerzbank had already made public in November that Weidmann was the preferred candidate of outgoing Supervisory Board Chairman Helmut Gottschalk.

With the share price increase this Thursday, the gain for Commerzbank shareholders since the beginning of the year amounts to more than a quarter. This puts the share at the top of the MDax and also leaves it well behind the European banking sector. In comparison with Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank is also ahead of the field, although the shares of its competitor 2023 have so far only gained just under eleven percent./ajx/ag/jha/