Financial Statements and Management Report Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft
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Financial Statements and Management Report Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft Contents 4 Management report 4 Structure and organisation 4 Corporate responsibility 8 Remuneration report 23 Details pursuant to Art. 289 of the German Commercial Code (HGB) 31 Business and overall conditions 34 Earnings performance, assets and financial position 37 Outlook and opportunities report 43 Risk report 73 Income statement 74 Balance sheet 78 Notes 78 General information 82 Notes to the income statement 83 Notes to the balance sheet 94 Other notes 117 Responsibility statement by the Board of Managing Directors 118 Independent auditors’ report 4 Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft Management report of Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft Structure and organisation Corporate responsibility Commerzbank is one of Germany’s leading banks for private and cor- The global community has set itself a new framework for sustain- porate customers, and an internationally active universal bank with lo- able development: the Sustainable Development Goals, which give cations spanning more than 50 countries. It has one of the densest equal consideration to economic, social and environmental factors. branch networks of any private-sector bank in Germany. Commerz- These were agreed by the General Assembly of the United Nations bank serves a total of over 17.5 million private and small-business and apply to all countries, civil society and the private sector. customers and more than 60,000 corporate clients worldwide. Commerzbank also shares responsibility for helping to turn the As part of its new strategy, Commerzbank is focusing its busi- Sustainable Development Goals into reality. We are confident that ness activities on the two core segments “Private and Small- we can contribute to securing the future and increasing the value Business Customers” and “Corporate Clients”, offering them a of the company by gearing the Bank’s core services towards sus- comprehensive portfolio of banking and capital market services. tainable development. The run-off segment Asset & Capital Recovery (ACR) comprises We received significant recognition of this sustainable approach – besides the Public Finance business – all non-strategic activities when we were added to the Stoxx Global ESG Leaders sustainability of commercial real estate and ship financing. Each segment is index in October 2016. Commerzbank is therefore included in this managed by a member of the Board of Managing Directors. leading group of 300 companies from around the world, which stand All staff and management functions are contained in Group out for the comprehensive way in which they tackle environmental, Management: Group Audit, Group Communications, Group Com- social and governance (ESG) issues. To qualify for the sustainability pliance, Group Development & Strategy, Group Finance, Group index, a company must belong to the top 25% of the underlying Human Resources, Group Investor Relations, Group Legal, Group Stoxx Global 1800 Index for these criteria. Treasury and the central risk functions. The support functions are provided by Group Services. These include Group Banking Opera- tions, Group Markets Operations, Group Information Technology, Ensuring integrity Group Organisation & Security and Group Delivery Center. The staff, management and support functions are combined in the Others and The Commerzbank Group’s values management is founded on Consolidation division. clear, immovable values, which are laid down in the Code of Con- On the domestic market, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft is duct. These include compliance with applicable national and for- headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, from where it manages a eign laws. Any employee who has demonstrably committed an of- nationwide branch network through which all customer groups are fence must bear the consequences under criminal, employment or served. Its major German subsidiaries are comdirect bank AG and civil law. Commerzbank has tightened up its precautions in this Commerz Real AG. Outside Germany, the Bank has 6 material regard once again: through its Global Anti Bribery and Corruption subsidiaries, 23 operational foreign branches and 34 representa- Policy (ABC Policy) approved by the Board of Managing Directors tive offices in more than 50 countries and is represented in all in 2016, the Bank is acting against bribery, the acceptance of ad- major financial centres, such as London, New York, Tokyo, Hong vantages and other forms of corruption. It applies both within and Kong and Singapore. However, the focus of the Bank’s interna- outside the company, in relation to trade organisations, public of- tional activities is on Europe. ficials and all people who have a relationship with the Bank. Spe- The financial year is the calendar year. cial ABC training was developed to support employees in imple- menting the new policy. All employees and managers around the world were required to pass this mandatory annual training for the first time in autumn 2016. Business and functional units with heightened risk profiles and individuals at increased risk of bribery and corruption receive additional needs-based training. Financial Statements and Management Report 2016 5 Managing sustainability risks received a seal of approval from the “Forum Nachhaltige Geldanla- gen” (FNG) in November 2016: the Commerzbank “Globale Aktien Managing the reputational risks which result directly from envi- – Katholische Werte” fund meets the FNG’s quality standards for ronmental, social or ethical issues is part of the Group’s overall sustainable investment in the German-speaking region. risk strategy. Customer relationships, business activities and products where sustainability considerations play a major role are researched and analysed in depth and assessed according to a dif- Mitigating climate change ferentiated approach, which can result in rejection of business or the termination of a customer relationship. In 2016, Reputational The two-degree target agreed at the Paris climate conference is a Risk Management passed judgement on around 6,200 business massive challenge for the global community. Under the banner of enquiries (2015: over 5,400). The management of reputational “green finance”, scientists, businesses and politicians have been risks covers all operational segments of Commerzbank as well as working together both nationally and internationally to develop the its material subsidiaries and is an integral element in new product banking industry of the future. Commerzbank is involved in an ar- development. ray of initiatives, which from 2016 onwards have included the Sus- Commerzbank has also formulated binding positions and direc- tainable Trade Working Group of the International Chamber of tives for selected topics, from agricultural commodities to hydro- Commerce and the Green Finance Working Group within the Insti- electric power. The Bank’s position on human rights – in which it tute of International Finance. breaks down how it fulfils its human rights responsibilities towards Green finance is nothing new for Commerzbank: we have been the various major stakeholder groups – was revised in 2016. In making a significant contribution to financing renewable energy July 2016, the Board of Managing Directors of Commerzbank also since the mid-1980s. In 2016, the Energy Competence Centre’s passed a new coal guideline. This considers the main elements in loan portfolio totalled around €5.0bn (previous year: €5.1bn). In the process chain, from coal extraction to coal-fired electricity all, the wind farms, solar parks and bioenergy installations fi- generation. Commerzbank’s decisions include a policy that it will nanced by Commerzbank up to the end of 2016 have avoided an- no longer finance any new coal-fired power plants or coal mining nual emissions of around 14 million tonnes of CO2. That equates to projects. By issuing this guideline, we are engaging with our re- around 9% of all CO2 emissions saved in Germany from the use of sponsibility in connection with the risks associated with climate renewable power in 2016. change and the energy transition. At the same time, we are con- Another example of how the Bank’s core business can be tinuing to support our customers in their strategic deliberations, to linked to climate protection is green bonds. The proceeds from help them successfully master the particular challenges facing the issuing these bonds are used to fund projects that are unambigu- energy sector. ously sustainable, in areas such as renewable energy and energy efficiency. In 2016, Commerzbank supported five issuers with pre- paring such transactions and placing them on the international Seizing opportunities for sustainability capital market. The total volume was just under €2.4bn. It is part of our understanding of sustainability that we must Our contribution to turning the Sustainable Development Goals into also systematically minimise our own resource consumption. The reality is not limited to reducing potential negative impacts on our Group Environmental Committee, chaired by Frank Annuscheit, a financial services. We develop and sell products and financial ser- member of the Board of Managing Directors of Commerzbank, vices that can serve as effective vehicles for promoting sustainable regularly defines rules and strategies for environmental protection development. For example, interest in sustainable investments is within operations. These include Commerzbank’s climate target of continuing to rise. Alongside foundations and churches, increasing reducing greenhouse