Commerzbank chief says he's not preparing for disaster, sees a mild recession

Commerzbank CEO Manfred Knof says the slope has prepared for an uplift successful nonperforming loans, but the concern is "definitely not a catastrophe oregon default issue" arsenic a "mild recession" is apt successful the cards.

"We person already made provisions but inactive astatine the infinitesimal we don't spot a batch of issues up of us," Knof told CNBC's Annette Weisbach astatine the European Banking Congress successful Frankfurt Friday.

Nonperforming loans are slope loans apt to beryllium repaid precocious oregon not successful afloat and are besides known arsenic "bad debt."

"We are looking guardant to a precise unchangeable and bully effect adjacent year," Knof said.

Other predictions for Europe's economical outlook person not been arsenic optimistic. The main economist astatine Berenberg, Holger Schmieding, told CNBC that user assurance had "plunged truthful severely that the recession volition apt not beryllium shallow."

The Commerzbank CEO besides said the actions of regulators, politicians and firm banks person established "optimism" that the assemblage tin negociate the existent economical environment. 

"We volition person 2 hard years up of america but we are resilient and strong. [If] we each enactment unneurotic we should beryllium [able to] grip the situation," helium said.

The main of Deutsche Bank Christian Sewing was much frank successful his comments astir regularisation successful Germany and Europe much widely, saying helium was acrophobic that "the pendulum is astir to plaything excessively far" and could "structurally disadvantage" the manufacture among planetary competitors. 

"The existent regulatory model does small to fortify European banks," helium said, speaking astatine the aforesaid lawsuit Friday. "Instead of further expanding and tightening, we should besides look astatine wherever it mightiness person gone excessively far."

He added that portion Europe is presently a person successful sustainable finance, the bloc "will soon suffer this leadership" if regularisation "continues arsenic it has."