Commerzbank considers Landesbank veteran Vetter for chair: sources

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Commerzbank is considering nominating Hans-Joerg Vetter to chair the German lender’s supervisory board, two people familiar with the matter said.

A decision on Monday by the board to back Vetter, a former chief executive of Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg, would go some way toward filling a leadership vacuum at the top of Germany’s No. 2 bank.

Commerzbank declined to comment.

The lender was thrust into turmoil earlier this month when Chief Executive Martin Zielke and supervisory board Chairman Stefan Schmittmann said they would step down to give the bank a fresh start.

That followed a public campaign for change by top investor, the U.S. private equity firm Cerberus, which holds a 5% stake in the bank.

The supervisory board is due to convene on Monday about the chair position, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.

Bloomberg first reported Vetter’s candidacy on Thursday.

(Reporting by Tom Sims and Hans Seidenstuecker; Editing by David Evans and Michelle Martin)