Germany-based Commerzbank is bringing together its real estate operations into one line of business, board member Bernd Knobloch told German business daily Handelsblatt. In February, the real estate investment fund unit CGI will be moved to Commerzbank's commercial real estate unit, which comprises the recently acquired real estate bank Eurohypo and Commerz-Leasing, he said.
Germany-based Commerzbank is bringing together its real estate operations into one line of business, board member Bernd Knobloch told German business daily Handelsblatt. In February, the real estate investment fund unit CGI will be moved to Commerzbank's commercial real estate unit, which comprises the recently acquired real estate bank Eurohypo and Commerz-Leasing, he said.
Knobloch said the company 'expect to operate more powerfully by bundling the entire value creation chain', and added that he expects to see strong real estate business in the next years. Eurohypo's new business amounted to almost EUR 23 bn last year, and will achieve 'at least' as much in 2007, according to Knobloch. He expects Eurohypo to grow faster abroad than in Germany and plans to expand in Turkey, Russia and other Eastern European countries.
In its first year of activities in the Turkish market, the bank Eurohypo financed commercial and office development projects for more than EUR 600 mln. Knobloch also said that Eurohypo's pre-tax return on equity was 13% in the first nine months of 2006 and is expected to increase to 16% by 2008.
Since taking over Eurohypo, Europe's largest institution specializing in financing real-estate and public-sector projects, Commerzbank has been Germany's second-largest bank and one of the leading banks in Europe. Its consolidated balance-sheet total stands at EUR 615 bn.