BERLIN (Reuters) – Commerzbank (ETR:)’s supervisory board chairman Jens Weidmann mentioned there may be little likelihood for an amicable merger with UniCredit after the Italian financial institution’s shock buy of a hefty stake within the German lender, Handelsblatt newspaper reported.
“It is like every relationship: if the beginning is unsuccessful, it will likely be troublesome,” Weidmann advised Handelsblatt in an interview revealed on Monday.
He additionally expressed doubt {that a} hostile takeover within the banking sector can create sustainable worth.
“In mergers, it will be important that the administration first talks to one another in a spirit of belief and develops a typical understanding. UniCredit has determined towards this and stunned us with its entry. That is not good fashion,” Weidmann mentioned.
UniCredit now controls round 28% of the shares in Commerzbank. The Italian lender holds about 9.5% immediately, and UniCredit has additionally secured entry to a complete of 18.5% by monetary devices.
In line with Weidmann, it will be advantageous for Germany’s monetary sovereignty to have two giant impartial non-public banks, Deutsche Financial institution (ETR:) and Commerzbank.
A have a look at HypoVereinsbank and Financial institution Austria, which have been taken over by UniCredit in 2005, reveals how banks can evolve after shedding their independence, he mentioned.
“Commerzbank’s footprint in Germany would most likely be smaller and the attractiveness of Frankfurt as a monetary centre would undergo,” mentioned Weidmann, including that many purchasers, particularly from the small and medium-sized enterprise sector, can be compelled to reorient themselves in response to such a transfer.
