Commerzbank AG (CRZBF) Q1 2025 Earnings Call

Investor webinar replay

Replay transcript excerpt

Hello and welcome to the Commerzbank AG conference call regarding the first quarter results 2025. Please note that this call is being transmitted as well as recorded by audio webcast and will subsequently be made available for replay in the internet. At this time all participants have been placed on a listen-only mode. The floor will be open for questions following Bettina Orlob's and Carsten Schmidt's presentation. Let me now turn the floor over to our CEO Bettina Orlob. Good morning everyone and welcome to our earnings call for the first quarter 2025. The strong momentum we have created in recent quarters has continued in Q1 and we are looking to the future with confidence. We are happy to walk you through our very good results and provide you with our largely unchanged outlook for 2025. I start with an overview before Carsten takes over to present the details of the financials. Let me start with four key messages before I discuss them a little bit more in detail. First, we delivered the best quarterly net result for Comets Bank in more than a decade. Second, the implementation of our strategic program towards 15% return on tangible equity in 2028 has kicked off well the first tangible milestones already reached. Third, our business model is robust and we are well positioned to cope with the macro challenges ahead. And last, we confirm our positive financial outlook for 2025 and increase our expectation for the CET1 ratio to at least 14.5% by the end of this year, which is our forecast and not any new threshold. Let's have a closer look at the key financials in Q1. The strong start to the year is reflected in the very good cost-income ratio of 56%. As always, Q1 benefits from some seasonal support and the improvement is driven by revenues, while strict cost discipl...