Commerzbank sees subprime woes continuing-magazine

FRANKFURT, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Commerzbank (CBKG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) expects further market impact from risky, subprime U.S. housing loans when banks release full-year earnings next year, the German lender's chief executive told WirtschaftsWoche magazine.

There also could be repercussions when banks publish their third-quarter results, Klaus-Peter Mueller said in an interview with the magazine published on Saturday.

But he predicted that after the full-year earnings period is over, markets will return to normal.

The International Monetary Fund expects financial turmoil to drag on for some time and slow global growth in 2008, its managing director Rodrigo Rato had said on Thursday.

Commerzbank, like other banks, will have gone through all its real-estate loans by next year to assess its own potential losses, Mueller said.

The bank is interested in buying troubled German lender IKB (IKBG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and would be interested in its peer Postbank (DPBGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) if it is for sale, he added in the interview.

IKB ran into trouble over its investments linked to the market for risky U.S. mortgages and had to be propped up through a 3.5 billion euro ($5 billion) rescue package put together by the country's banks. It is now looking for a partner.

Commerzbank would use any interesting opportunity to expand abroad, while a sale of Commerzbank itself would not be beneficial to the German economy, he added.