Commerzbank returned to profitability in 2021.

The bottom line was a net income of 430 million euros - despite an expensive restructuring of the group and additional burdens at the Polish subsidiary mBank.

The Frankfurt MDax group thus earned significantly more than expected by analysts.

"2022 will be a crucial year in the implementation of our strategy," said CEO Manfred Knof on Thursday in Frankfurt.

"We want to build on the successful customer business of the past year and increase the group profit to more than one billion euros.

We are therefore aiming to pay a dividend for the 2022 financial year.”

In 2020, the institute, whose largest shareholder is the German state, posted the largest loss since the financial crisis of 2009 at around 2.9 billion euros.

Knof, who started as a reorganizer on January 1, 2021, wants to put Commerzbank back on the road to success with an intensified austerity program.

The Management Board has set itself the goal of reducing the number of full-time positions from around 39,500 originally to 32,000 by the end of 2024.

The number of branches in Germany is almost halved from 790 to 450.