The German bank Commerzbank, the second biggest in the country and the one most preferred by medium-size businesses, is trying to defend itself from a potential acquisition by the Italian Unicredit by asking for alternative solutions to UBS and Goldman Sachs. Frankfurt sources talk about potential acquisitions by Commerzbank of its own capital.
The situation is the last development in a series of events started in early September, when Unicredit announced its willingness to increase participation in Commerzbank up to 29%. So far, the Italian bank’s acquisitions have reached 21% of Commerzbank’s social capital.
Despite the opposition of the German government, the European Commission stated that there are no real economic reasons to block a potential acquisition of Commerzbank, and that it could potentially make the banks’ activities more resilient to shocks, as well as more dynamic and prone to innovation.
On the other hand, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni stated that this was a decision in which the Italian government had no say, as it involved the actions of private banks; however, if needed, future interventions could be evaluated.
Author: Luis Cabezas
Photo: Freepik