FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - Leading German bankers say the worst of the financial markets crisis may be over but remain cautious due to the volatile business environment.

"It is impossible to foresee when the financial crisis will be over but there are some indications that the sharp decline in asset prices will not continue and that the markets are now levelling off," Commerzbank AG. said in its quarterly report.

Chief Financial Officer Eric Strutz said in a conference call that the markets have somewhat returned to normality in April but stressed that "we have to see what happens in coming quarters".

Deutsche Bank AG. Chief Executive Josef Ackermann also pointed to signs that some market segments are reviving.

"If no further shocks occur, wen can now jointly cope with the worst. But the situation remains fragile," he said at an event late Tuesday.

"We now need a phase of stabilisation and calm."

Commerzbank distanced itself from its full-year target of meeting or surpassing last year's result, saying it will be "very difficult" to achieve a similarly good result as its 2007 net profit of 1.92 billion euros.

Last week, Deutsche Bank also walked away from its 2008 target of 8.4 billion euros in underlying pretax profit. judith.csaba@thomsonreuters.com jcs/kf1

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.