(ANSA-AFP) - FRANKFURT, MAY 17 - Germany's second-biggest lender Commerzbank on Wednesday said net profit almost doubled in the first quarter, thanks to "a tailwind" from higher interest rates. The group said it made a bottom-line profit of 580 million euros ($630 million), compared with 298 million euros over the same period a year earlier. "We had a very good start to 2023," CEO Manfred Knof said in a statement. "The interest rate development continues to give us a tailwind, and the fee business has delivered a good result," he said. Like other lenders in Europe, Commerzbank has benefited from a higher interest rate environment as the European Central Bank has raised borrowing costs at an unprecedented rate in recent months to combat inflation. Inflation in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, eased to 7.2 percent in April after peaking at 8.8 percent last October. (ANSA-AFP).