Germany's Commerzbank makes DAX comeback

Wirecard AG

27/02/2023 08:15

BERLIN, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Germany's Commerzbank
 CBKG.DE  rejoined the DAX index on Monday, marking a comeback
for Germany's No. 2 lender after it was removed from the club of
blue-chip companies in 2018.
    The return to the index comes after Commerzbank launched a
major overhaul two years ago that saw thousands of job cuts and
branch closures that restored profitability.
    "We have come to stay," Commerzbank CEO Manfred Knof said
before ringing the opening bell at the Frankfurt stock exchange.
"The return of Commerzbank is a good signal for the German
banking market."
    In 2018, Commerzbank, still partly owned by the German
government after a bailout, was expelled from the DAX index to
make room for Wirecard AG, a payments company that collapsed in
2020 after a years-long fraud was exposed.
    Following Wirecard's demise, Deutsche Boerse AG, which
compiles the DAX index, revamped it to include 40 companies,
rather than the previous 30, and made membership criteria
tougher.
    Since its founding in 1988, the DAX has been Germany's
answer to the Dow Jones Industrial Average in New York and the
FTSE in London, with its members forming the corporate elite in
one of the world's largest economies.
    Other members include Siemens AG, Volkswagen AG, and Allianz
SE.
    Commerzbank will replace Linde Plc  LIN.N , which is giving
up its listing in Germany. 

 (Reporting by Marta Orosz, Writing by Rachel More, Editing by
Miranda Murray)
 ((rachel.more@thomsonreuters.com;))