Commerzbank is in talks that could lead to it exiting its landmark Frankfurt headquarters as the German lender pushes to cut costs and fend off a potential takeover by Italy’s UniCredit.
The bank has started talks with the building’s owner, Samsung SRA Asset Management, over options that could lead to it extending its lease or leaving when it expires in 2032, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Leaving the 259-metre Commerzbank Tower, designed by renowned British architect Sir Norman Foster and long a symbol of the lender’s ambitions, would mark a striking shift to reflect a more modest and pragmatic culture.
The skyscraper — Germany’s tallest building — dominates the Frankfurt skyline, eclipsing Deutsche Bank’s twin towers. It has featured prominently in Commerzbank’s advertising.
Commerzbank sold the building to Samsung SRA in 2016 for about €600mn as part of a restructuring following its state-backed rescue during the financial crisis, and agreed a 15-year lease.
Samsung SRA said it was “still in talks with Commerzbank about the issue”, adding that the German lender wanted to remain in the tower but wanted to “cut their rent”. The real estate fund manager and people familiar with Commerzbank’s thinking stressed that nothing had been decided yet.
Commerzbank confirmed that it was in talks with Samsung SRA as it was “continuously reviewing” its properties with the aim of “optimising our existing spaces and relinquishing those that are no longer needed”.
Earlier this year, the bank signed a 15-year lease with Helaba for more than 73,000 square metres of space, enough for 3,200 workplaces, in the new 205 metre Central Business Tower, which is under construction and expected to be completed in 2028.
Commerzbank described the new skyscraper, alongside its existing tower hosting 2,900 workplaces, as “an important new anchor for the bank’s headquarters in downtown Frankfurt”.
The talks come as Commerzbank seeks to streamline operations after UniCredit increased its stake to more than 29 per cent. The German lender plans to cut about 3,300 jobs in Germany — one in six in the country — with most of the reductions in Frankfurt.
One issue under discussion with Samsung SRA concerns the extent of possible renovations to its current headquarters. Hailed as an “eco tower” when it was built in the 1990s, Commerzbank Tower no longer meets modern energy efficiency or sustainability standards.
Samsung SRA has sounded out project developers about potential upgrades, according to a person familiar with the matter. The company declined to comment on contacts with developers.
Growth in Frankfurt’s office market has been driven by a wave of large lettings this year, with major deals by Commerzbank, ING, KPMG and Allianz Global Investors boosting activity, according to BNP Paribas Real Estate.
Prime rents have held at about €54 per square metre since March — up 10 per cent from a year earlier — amid strong demand for top-tier space.
Additional reporting by Julie Steinberg
