Martin Blessing told a German newspaper that he will not give up his position as Chief Executive of Commerzbank until he has already reorganized it successfully. Speaking to the newspaper Handelsblatt, Blessing said, "It would be absurd to give up prematurely. I can and want to bring the reorganization of Commerzbank to a successful end. That is my goal." This would mean he would be on board for at least three more years. The German bank is in the midst of a reform program that will enable it to achieve more than 10% of its post tax return on equity by 2016.
During the financial crisis, the German government bailed out Commerzbank by investing EUR 18.2 billion or USD 243.62 billion. As a result, the former now has a 17% stake in the lender. When asked if the Federal government has plans of exiting, Blessing said he didn't think so. "I cannot see how the Federal Government has an interest in exiting at the current share price. From the point of view of the Federal Government, the shares must rise and I'm working on that," he said.
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