Commerzbank digs digitally deeper for corporate clients
Commerzbank
says it is the first bank in Germany to offer its corporate clients a fully digitised advisory process for managing interest rate and currency risks, and investment management.
Customers can go through the entire consultation process for selected products on their own. The digital tool allows for a product suggestion based on preferences and underlying business.
“Such an offer for corporate clients has not existed in Germany so far,” says Dominik Steinkühler, Commerzbank’s divisional director digital transformation in the segment corporate clients.
Explanations from the digital tool are supplemented by current market data, key figures and information on opportunities and risks.
An interactive scenario calculator allows the customer to simulate different developments and their effects on their underlying business. At the end of the process, the automatically generated consultation protocol is available for download. If there are questions, a consulting team is available by phone.
In addition, Commerzbank has recently offered its corporate clients the opportunity to apply for a working capital loan in “three [online] steps”.
Via the corporate customer portal, users can make a loan application. In the first step, the desired loan amount is recorded. In the next step, the customer uploads the necessary documents for the credit decision. Afterwards he/she can send the application.
“While such a loan process lasted an average of six to eight days, the customer now ideally receives the signed loan agreement within 24 hours,” says Steinkühler.
Commerzbank says this new offering is “just the first milestone on the way to a fully digitised credit process” – from loan application to credit check to loan delivery. This is currently being worked on in the bank’s Digital Campus.
There aren’t any specific timelines yet, but the bank adds that its offering will be successively extended to other types of credit. Digital investment and risk consulting will also be continuously expanded with additional products and, in the future, supplemented by digital product closure.
Digital Deutschland
The bank has been pushing hard with its digital ambitions.
In January, Microsoft Deutschland and Commerzbank’s subsidiary #openspace said they will start working together as they target SMEs in Germany and offer digital business models.
While in August 2017, Commerzbank launched a digital financing app for its mortgage lending business. The app is free and users can carry out house and apartment purchases on their smartphones.
All these digital dreams come at a price. Last year, Commerzbank agreed an outline reconciliation of interests and social plan with the employee representative committees in Germany.
This followed its plans to lay off nearly 5,000 people. According to a letter by German labour union Verdi, the majority of these job cuts – around 3,000 – will be across the bank’s branch network at home in Germany.
