Commerzbank, Germany's second-biggest lender, predicted a difficult fourth quarter as the bank expects it will need to set aside more money for bad loans.
Commerzbank reported a third-quarter net loss of €1.05 billion earlier this week on costs tied to the integration of Dresdner Bank and writedowns stemming from its Eurohypo commercial-property unit.
"From the current vantage point, we expect risk provisions to rise again in the fourth quarter," the Frankfurt-based company said in its third-quarter report on its website today. "Overall, it will be very difficult to achieve a positive operating result in the fourth quarter."
The bank, a lender to German companies, said today that loan-loss provisions totalled €1.05 billion in the quarter, exceeding analyst estimates.
"The second half of the year remains difficult and Commerzbank will close 2009 with a loss," chief executive officer Martin Blessing said in a statement, reiterating a forecast for the current year.
Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected loan-loss provisions of €995 million.
Commerzbank, the country's second-ranked bank after Deutsche Bank, is a lender to companies including debt-laden Schaeffler Group.
Bloomberg