Commerzbank's supervisory board chairman Jens Weidmann said there is little chance for an amicable merger with UniCredit after the Italian bank's surprise purchase of a hefty stake in the German lender, Handelsblatt newspaper reported.
UniCredit's CEO Andrea Orcel said his bank's investment in German rival Commerzbank and its bid for smaller domestic peer Banco BPM will test the euro zone's commitment towards greater integration, which is necessary to avoid an economic decline.
Germany will not subject any potential takeover of Commerzbank by Italy's UniCredit to an investment screening, a German government source said on Thursday.
Italy's UniCredit said on Wednesday it has raised its potential stake in Commerzbank to 28% using further derivatives. Investors are watching whether UniCredit will take the leap with a buyout of the German lender or pursue its simultaneous bid for Italy's Banco BPM.
Italian bank UniCredit said on Wednesday it had raised its potential stake in Germany's Commerzbank to 28% by signing new derivative contracts.
Commerzbank relies on net interest income for roughly 70% of its revenue, amplifying the bank's reliance on ECB policy. Q3 2024 results were solid but profitability slipped relative to the prior year as credit costs increased. The German economy is expected to only grow 0.2% in 2025, with parliamentary elections creating near-term uncertainty.
Commerzbank's CEO said on Wednesday that Europe needed bigger banks to compete with U.S. rivals, but repeated that her own company was better off alone in the face of interest from Italian bank UniCredit.
Neils Christensen has a diploma in journalism from Lethbridge College and has more than a decade of reporting experience working for news organizations throughout Canada. His experiences include covering territorial and federal politics in Nunavut, Canada.
Germany's Deutsche Bank is reportedly benefitting from uncertainty surrounding a possible takeover of rival Commerzbank. Commerzbank's customers are increasingly turning to Deutsche Bank for funding, Jan-Philipp Gillmann, head of Deutsche Bank's German/European corporate banking division, told attendees at an event at Frankfurt.
German Finance Minister Joerg Kukies said on Sunday he did not expect UniCredit to go ahead with plans for a takeover of Germany's Commerzbank due to the objections raised by the government in Berlin.
UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel on Friday ruled out moving the bank's headquarters to Germany if it acquires Commerzbank , adding the Italian lender would want to wait for a new government in Berlin before any potential bid.
Commerzbank CEO Bettina Orlopp said on Friday that it was up to the bank's management - not the government - to decide on any possible tie-up with Italy's UniCredit.