Commerzbank takes Greek bonds hit

Germany’s Commerzbank lost €687m in the third quarter because it took a large loss on the fallen value of the Greek government bonds it holds.

The bank wrote off €798m of its Greek holdings.

Greek bonds have fallen sharply because of the government debt crisis there.

The country is working out debt relief deal in which creditors would see the value of their bonds reduced by 50%.

The loss compared to a profit of €113m in the same period a year earlier.

The bank said that its core banking activities including lending to business customers were doing better.