Commerzbank said on Thursday it would cut 3,900 jobs and unveiled more ambitious financial targets as part of a strategy revamp designed to head off UniCredit's advances for a tie-up between the German and Italian lenders.
Commerzbank said on Thursday it would cut 3,900 jobs and unveiled more ambitious financial targets as part of a strategy revamp designed to head off UniCredit's advances for a tie-up between the German and Italian lenders.
Germany's Commerzbank is preparing staff cuts and revamped financial targets in its efforts to fend off tie-up advances by Italy's UniCredit , multiple people with direct knowledge of the plans told Reuters.
Andrea Orcel, CEO of UniCredit, discusses fourth-quarter earnings, the bank's investment in Commerzbank and interest rates.
UniCredit remains focused on its takeover bid for Banco BPM and its stake in Commerzbank , a spokesperson for the Italian bank said, after two sources confirmed a report about an investment in Generali.
Commerzbank on Friday unexpectedly released quarterly results, touting "record" annual profit and announcing a new share buyback scheme.
Germany's Commerzbank said on Friday that it posted a 20% increase in net profit in 2024, announcing earnings nearly two weeks ahead of schedule as it fends off interest in a tie-up from Italy's UniCredit.
Commerzbank reiterated on Friday that it will not meet with UniCredit for formal discussions until it receives a specific proposal from the Italian bank, which has ruffled feathers in Berlin with its interest in a merger.
"The behavior of the potential acquirer was very aggressive, very opaque, untransparent," Germany's Jörg Kukies told CNBC of UniCredit's bid for Commerzbank. The move by UniCredit, which is already present in Germany through its HypoVereinsbank branch, has so far enjoyed a cool reception from the fractured Berlin government.
Commerzbank on Wednesday defined UniCredit's approach for a potential tie-up as "hostile", and said there had been no discussion of it with the Italian bank in the past two years, despite UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel saying there had.
UniCredit chief Andrea Orcel wants to discuss a planned takeover of Commerzbank with the new German government and hopes for some clarity at the latest by the end of the year, he told German paper FAZ.
Commerzbank is exploring cutting thousands of jobs as it seeks to fend off an unwanted approach from Italy's UniCredit , the Financial Times reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.