By Elena Vardon

Commerzbank nudged up its guidance for the year as it expects its top line to continue to be supported by higher income from the interest it makes on loans.

The German lender, which focuses on small and medium-size companies, on Thursday said it now pencils in net interest income--the difference between interest received on loans and that paid out on customer deposits, which makes up the bulk of its revenue--of around 8.2 billion euros ($9.42 billion) for 2025, up from its recently-upgraded view of around 8.0 billion euros.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, the bank reported net interest income of 2.04 billion euros, in line with what it made in the same quarter last year and with a company-compiled consensus. Total revenue was 7.4% ahead at 2.94 billion euros on higher income from commissions.

Commerzbank has been working on implementing the standalone strategy it outlined in February--which includes boosting profitability and investor returns as well as thousands of job cuts--as it tries to fend off an approach from Italy's UniCredit, now its largest shareholder.

For the year, the Frankfurt-based bank confirmed that it expects to make around 2.9 billion euros in net profit before restructuring expenses, which include staff reductions in Germany and hiring at some of its international locations. For the third-quarter, it reported a 7.9% decline in net profit to 591 million euros, falling short of consensus which had estimated an increase to 659 million euros in part due to heavier costs on higher staff expenses and a higher tax rate.

Looking ahead, the German government's big increase in spending on defense and a repair of frayed infrastructure to boost the country's growth is likely to benefit the bank and offset some of the effects of a lower interest rate environment on its income. "Commerzbank is taking a very positive view of the financial year 2026 due to higher net interest income and tailwinds based on the macroeconomic environment," it said.

The group said it applied for a second share buyback for up to 600 million euros on top of the up to 1 billion euros program it started in September.

Write to Elena Vardon at elena.vardon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 06, 2025 02:06 ET (07:06 GMT)

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