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Dropping out of Germany's benchmark DAX stock index after 30 years is the end of an era for Commerzbank AG, but also signals a reshuffling of the power structure in retail payments, according to market observers.
The second-largest German private bank, which was a founding member of the DAX in 1988, will be replaced by digital payments firm Wirecard AG on Sept. 24.
"At the moment it is obviously the case that the market values fintechs more highly than traditional banks," Commerzbank CEO Martin Zielke said in an emailed comment.
But he stressed that nothing would change for customers and that Commerzbank continues to be the leading bank for Germany's Mittelstand -- the country's core tranche of smaller businesses. The bank will also continue with its strategic transformation into a digital enterprise, he said.
Munich-based Wirecard has seen its share price rise amid a boom in fintech payments services. At [euro]23.41 billion, its market capitalization is more than twice Commerzbank's [euro]10.26 billion, and also that of rival Deutsche Bank AG's, whose market cap stands at [euro]19.91 billion.
European bank stocks have taken a battering this year amid geopolitical worries, and the German banks have also contended with worries about their multiyear restructurings, low profitability and high costs....