HVB Group, Germany's second-largest banking group, has drawn cautious approval from analysts after it announced a boardroom reshuffle and unveiled ambitious plans for €100bn ($108bn) in cost cuts and asset disposals this year.

HVB, which suffered from larger-than-expected loan loss provisions in 2002, will restructure its franchise to concentrate on European private and corporate banking, focusing on three business segments: Germany, Austria and central and eastern Europe, and corporates and markets.