Commerzbank aims to cut almost €2 billion in costs by slashing 9,000 jobs and paring laggard investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort after swooping in to buy Dresdner Bank, it said yesterday.

Commerzbank will buy its competitor from Allianz for €10 billion in two steps, taking 60 per cent this year and the rest of next year to create a rival to flagship Deutsche Bank in Europe's biggest economy.

Much of the purchase price will be paid to Allianz in the form of shares, leaving Europe's biggest insurer with a stake of almost 30 per cent in the new Commerzbank.

The deal puts a price tag of €9.8 billion on Dresdner - a fraction of the €24 billion Allianz paid for it near the height of the dot-com bubble in 2001.

Yesterday, the new owner outlined a blueprint to cut costs, with more than half the savings to come from Dresdner Kleinwort, the straggling investment bank which has been further hobbled by the credit crunch.

But analysts and insiders were sceptical over whether the pairing of what many see as two mediocre performers could create a financial champion.

"It is good for Allianz. In the seven years they have owned Dresdner they have learned that they don't have a clue about running a bank," said Dirk Becker, an analyst with Landsbanki Kepler.

"But it is a huge integration. We will see in half a year that something will go wrong."

DZ Bank analyst Matthias Duerr wrote: "On a first glance we don't like the transaction at all. The acquisition of Dresdner is more expensive than expected."

Shares in Commerzbank were indicated down roughly two per cent in premarket trading while Allianz stock edged up slightly.