Nearly 10,000 bank employees are about to lose their jobs.

The suspension of dividend payments and the potential layoff of over 9,000 employees are bad news coming as the bank undergoes restructuring before falling into crisis.

Germany's second-largest bank has just announced plans to restructure its system.

Commerzbank, Germany's second-largest bank, has announced a restructuring plan. One piece of information that has caused concern among many employees is the planned layoff of over 9,000 people to revitalize Commerzbank.

A bank representative stated that they will cut all staff at branches worldwide. The estimated restructuring costs of $1.2 billion will leave Commerzbank with only a very small net profit for 2016. This is also the reason they decided to stop paying dividends.

Meanwhile, the country's largest bank, Deutsche Bank, is at the center of global financial market concerns due to the risk of facing massive penalties in the US.

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The US Department of Justice is demanding that Deutsche Bank pay a $14 billion fine for allegations related to the sale of mortgage-backed securities. There have even been predictions that Deutsche Bank could become a second Lehman Brothers.

Deutsche Bank shares fell 8.8%, the biggest single-day drop since June 27 in Frankfurt. Around 10 investment funds simultaneously divested from Deutsche Bank.

Over the past few days, there have been rumors that Deutsche Bank needs more capital and may require a government bailout plan. There have also been rumors that Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank might merge.

Bad luck for banks

Since the beginning of the year, the Bloomberg Europe Banks and Financial Services Index, a measure of the prices of 38 European financial and banking stocks, has fallen 24%. The KBW Index, which tracks the stock prices of 24 US banks, has fallen 4.6%. Wells Fargo shares, in particular, have dropped 18%.

The market is concerned that Deutsche Bank could become a second Lehman Brothers, the bank that collapsed during the global financial crisis.

Recently, a series of banks have been facing trouble. Wells Fargo, headquartered in San Francisco, had to pay a fine of over $185 million after US authorities accused the bank of secretly opening accounts without customers' knowledge.

Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf had a tense four-hour hearing before the U.S. Congress. Before the hearing even concluded, news broke that Wells Fargo would face further penalties for illegally seizing vehicles owned by U.S. military personnel. Wells Fargo has agreed to pay a $24 million fine.

According to a senior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition, Germany will not bail out troubled banks. However, a government bailout plan may be the only way to save struggling German banks, particularly Deutsche Bank.

Meanwhile, European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi said that the ECB's ultra-loose monetary policy was not the cause of the current troubles at Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest bank.

According to Vietnamnet