Commerzbank signs 15-year contract for new high-rise Frankfurt office

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Commerzbank, which last week announced job cuts in Germany as it fends off a takeover approach from Italy's UniCredit, has signed a 15-year rental contract for a new high-rise office in Frankfurt.

The German bank said the building will allow it to help consolidate staff scattered around Frankfurt next to its main headquarters in the city centre.

The lease, for 73,000 square metres over 52 floors, will provide 3,200 workplaces from the end of 2028.

Commerzbank, the nation's No. 2 lender, is currently trying to buttress its future as an independent bank.

Its standalone strategy came into question last year when UniCredit shocked Germany's corporate and political establishment by snapping up a hefty stake in Commerzbank, with the Italian bank's CEO Andrea Orcel pressing for a tie-up in the most ambitious attempt yet at a pan-European bank merger.

Last week, Commerzbank announced plans to axe 3,900 jobs, mainly in Germany, to help it deliver more ambitious profit targets as it fended off the advance.

(Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Ludwig Burger and Jan Harvey)