FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Commerzbank will present its figures for the second quarter on Friday (7:00 a.m.). Analysts on average expect profits to rise by a good 14 percent to 538 million euros, despite the burdens from the Polish subsidiary mBank. The institution's earnings - i.e. total income - are estimated to have risen by five percent year-on-year to around 2.55 billion euros, spurred mainly by interest income.

The controversial loan agreements of the Polish subsidiary in Swiss francs again cost the Frankfurt-based financial institution dearly in the second quarter. Following a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), Commerzbank set aside a further 342 million euros for this purpose in June. As a result, the Dax company's provisions for the loans now total 1.7 billion euros.

The Polish subsidiary had granted real estate loans in Swiss francs at significantly lower interest rates than loans in the domestic currency, the zloty. The rise in the franc exchange rate then caused difficulties for borrowers in repaying the loans.

Last year, Commerzbank earned a good 1.4 billion euros, the most since 2007. After a jump in profits in the first quarter of 2023, Group CEO Manfred Knof reaffirmed at the Annual General Meeting the intention to significantly increase net income in the current year. The institute also stuck to this target recently. However, this would depend on the further development of mBank's Swiss franc loans and was based on the assumption that there would only be a mild recession in Germany, it said./mar/DP/zb