It will retain 2,100 staff as it looks to chop EUR 170m ($212m) from its expenses by 2017, chief executive Constantin von Oesterreich told the business daily Handelsblatt.

"We have to show that the business model of our core bank works," he added.

Last month, HSH passed the European Central Bank’s (ECB) stress test thanks to the huge guarantee provided by its federal owners.

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