Commerzbank AG has announced in a press release that Martin Blessing, the chairman of the company's Board of Managing Directors, will be stepping down from his post at the end of his contract on October 2016.
He has declined the Supervisory Board's offer to extend his contract beyond October 2016.
Blessing said in the press release that it was not an easy decision for him to reject the offer for a contract extension.
"After 15 years on the Board of Managing Directors of Commerzbank, half of which as Chairman, it is now time for me to embark on a new chapter in my professional life," he said. "After 15 years on the Board of Managing Directors of Commerzbank, half of which as Chairman, it is now time for me to embark on a new chapter in my professional life."
The Wall Street Journal adds that Blessing was appointed at his post on 2008 and was tasked to lead the bank out of the financial crisis.
Blessing oversaw the acquisition of Dresdner Bank AG.
The Wall Street Journal adds that the company though incurred heavy losses in 2008 and 2009 due to several setbacks.
The company was affected by the high integration costs and toxic assets at Dresdner.
The Wall Street Journal adds that Commerzbank was also affected by the losses of its commercial real-estate lender EuroHypo.
The company is still winding down its EuroHypo unit.
Blessing has often faced criticism from shareholders for asking the German government, who bailed out the bank and injected €18 billion, or about $19 billion, for help, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Over the years, though, Blessing has succeeded in stabilizing the bank's earnings.
The Wall Street Journal adds that the company has reported net profit attributable to shareholders of €264 million in 2014.
At the end of 2014, the bank's total assets were at €558 billion, up 1.8 percent from a year earlier.
Klaus-Peter Müller, the chairman of the Supervisory Board, said in the press release that he deeply regrets the decision of Blessing.
He still respects, however, Blessing's decision and "greatly appreciate the success he has achieved as well as his commitment to continue to support the bank in a dedicated manner for the rest of his term," he said.
Müller adds in the press release that he will discuss with the nomination committee of the Supervisory Board to define the process of finding a successor.
