Commerzbank returns to DAX share index of top listed companies

 

BERLIN – Commerzbank returned to the DAX share index of Germany’s 40 top listed companies on Monday after an absence of more than four years.

“We are back,” Commerzbank said earlier this month following a decision by Deutsche Börse, which runs the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, to include it in the index.

Commerzbank chief executive Manfred Knof and chief financial officer Bettina Orlopp are to be present at the stock exchange when it opens on Monday.

The return follows the decision by chemicals company Linde to withdraw from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange from March 1.

Knof, who took over at the start of 2021, has embarked on radical cutbacks to the bank’s branch network in Germany. Thousands of jobs have gone. Last year, the bank posted profits of more than €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) on the back of rising interest rates, its highest profits since 2007.

Commerzbank lost its place on the DAX in the autumn of 2018, when the index numbered 30 shares. Its place was taken by the online service provider Wirecard, which has since then become embroiled in a huge scandal currently before the German courts.

The DAX has instituted stricter rules as part of the fallout from the scandal.

A DAX listing significantly raises a company’s profile, both within Germany and abroad. In addition, Exchange Traded Fund (ETFs) have to take this into account, with a resultant impact on share price.