Commerzbank's pre-tax profits of €153m ($139m) for the first quarter of 2002 were over 50% down on the same period last year, but are being trumpeted as a turning point in the bank's return to profit.

While overall the bank may have returned to profit, Roman Schmidt, the newly appointed head of investment banking for Germany, and his manager Mehmet Dalman, the chief executive of Commerzbank Securities, still have their work cut out how to turn around the securities division. It hit the bank's bottom line with a pre-tax loss of €28m, down from a profit of €66m in the same quarter last year.