The German government plans to sell part of its shares in Commerzbank, the country's fourth largest bank by assets. As a first step, the authorities intend to reduce their current stake of 16.49%, although the exact number of shares that will be sold has not yet been disclosed. Florian Tonkar, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, stressed that the state's participation in Commerzbank in 2008-2009 was critically important for stabilizing the financial market during the banking crisis. According to him, the bank has successfully overcome this period, and now the government must consistently reduce its participation in its capital. The Ministry of Finance assured that the sale of shares will take place «transparently and smoothly, without having a negative impact on the market.» It should be recalled that Commerzbank found itself in a difficult situation during the financial crisis and received state aid in the amount of €18.2 billion in 2008-2009.
