Germany's Commerzbank 'plans more cost-cutting'

 Commerzbank, Germany's second-largest bank, is planning further cost-cutting measures that could lead it to axe several hundred jobs, a business newspaper reported Monday.
The bank is aiming to outsource part of its finance department, affecting accounting especially, in addition to restructuring measures already underway, reported the Handelsblatt daily.
A bank spokeswoman only told AFP that "as part of the regular review of business processes, Commerzbank plans restructuring measures within Finance".
She said the bank was in talks with the works council, an employee organisation, but that no final decision had been taken.
Commerzbank also plans to close by September next year the six German branches of its mortgage subsidiary Hypothekenbank Frankfurt, which would affect about 100 additional jobs, said Handelsblatt.
Commerzbank suffered severe distress during the world financial crisis and was part-nationalised, temporarily receiving more than 18 billion euros ($24 billion) in state support.
Last year it returned to profitability, posting a net profit of 78 million euros.
The new steps would come in addition to extensive restructuring initiated by the bank in recent years, with the planned shedding of 5,200 jobs by 2016.