Unicredit further increased its stake in Commerzbank. Amid a German backlash, the Italian bank acquired an additional stake in Commerzbank so it now controls 21%, making it the largest shareholder. At the same time, he submitted a request to obtain a percentage of up to 29.9%.

Unicredit has acquired the additional Commerzbank shares through financial instruments, Unicredit said in a statement.

Earlier this month, UniCredit announced that controls 9% of Commerzbankconfirming that he obtained half of this percentage from the German government.

“Unicredit believes that there is significant value in Commerzbank, which can be leveraged either independently or within UniCredit, to the benefit of Germany and the bank’s shareholders. However, as in the case of UniCredit, this possibility requires action to crystallize,” the bank said.

It is recalled that TBerlin is a shareholder in Commerzbank since the 2008 financial year, when he had to provide it with a liquidity injection of 18.2 billion euros, while he still owns 12% of Commerzbank.

Shares in Commerzbank began trading lower on Monday after the German government said over the weekend it had no plans to sell more shares in Germany’s second-biggest bank. However, Unicredit’s announcement that it increased its participation and that it intends to increase it even more, reversed the fall with the title returning to positive territory.

According to CNBC, German government officials, in a meeting on Friday, discussed the state’s participation in Commerzbank. They concluded that the bank “is stable and profitable” and its strategy is oriented towards independence. The federal government is leaning in that direction and will retain its shareholding” reported about it.