German government says no to Unicredit for Commerzbank

The new government in Germany consolidates its position against Unicredit, which is targeting Commerzbank. All the details

It was no secret that the new German government would maintain the same line opposed to the acquisition of Commerzbank by Unicredit as the previous one. After many small clues, now the confirmation has arrived directly from the highest political level. In an official letter addressed to the chairman of the works council Sascha Uebel and his deputy Nina Olderdissen, Friedrich Merz reiterated the executive's commitment to maintaining a "strong and independent" Commerzbank. The government's position is based on the control of 12% of the shares of the German institution, acquired during the rescue from the financial crisis, which makes the state the largest shareholder of the 155-year-old bank.

The chancellor also shared the concerns expressed by the works council about potential job cuts that could arise from the Italian acquisition. The main reference is the case of Hypovereinsbank – the Handelsblatt points out – the Munich-based institution acquired by Unicredit in 2005, which subsequently eliminated more than 60% of full-time jobs. Merz acknowledged the legitimacy of these fears, saying he takes both the concerns about Commerzbank's independence and those about Germany's future as a financial center "very seriously."

The Chancellor emphasized the strategic importance of Commerzbank not only as one of Europe's largest financial institutions, but also as a "leading bank in financing German small and medium-sized enterprises" in their domestic and international business activities. This function is considered – by the current and former Chancellor – crucial for the German economic ecosystem.

The continuity in the position of the German governments is underlined by the coordination of Merz's position with that of Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD), who already in May had expressed himself against the acquisition of Commerzbank. If in the previous government the position of the liberal Finance Minister Christian Lindner had appeared to be open-minded, now all windows seem to have closed. According to government sources – again cited by the Handelsblatt – Merz and Klingbeil had previously agreed on a common strategy, thus representing a unitary position of the entire federal executive. The Chancellor confirmed in the letter that he shares the opinion of his Finance Minister, according to whom "an uncoordinated and hostile approach like that of the UniCredit Group is unacceptable", especially when it involves "a systemically important bank like Commerzbank".

Unicredit began its offensive in September 2024 by acquiring a 9% stake in Commerzbank and subsequently, through derivatives, secured control of approximately 28% of the shares. CEO Andrea Orcel had expressed his intention to fully acquire the German institution, encountering strong opposition from the board of directors and employee representatives.

The Düsseldorf daily reports that the representatives of the works council highlighted in their correspondence with Merz the strategic role of Commerzbank for German financial sovereignty. Uebel and Olderdissen emphasized in particular that the institution is one of the main financiers of the national defense industry, an aspect considered particularly relevant in the current geopolitical context. The unionists warned that moving the decision-making centers to Milan could have "serious repercussions on the credit supply and liquidity" of the country.

Merz finally praised Commerzbank's positive results in the first quarter of 2025 and the ambitious goals presented by the bank for the coming years. Berlin's position therefore does not change, indeed it is consolidated: the federal government considers it essential to maintain a second large independent German bank, in addition to Deutsche Bank, to effectively implement its financial policies.

This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/no-governo-germania-unicredit-commerzbank/ on Tue, 10 Jun 2025 12:38:08 +0000.