(Reuters) – The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told Commerzbank staff that he opposed to the offensive of the Unicredit Italian bank aimed at participating in the establishment, in a letter that the German Minister of Finance described as “important signal” concerning the position of the government.
Friedrich Merz spoke to the representatives of the staff of Commerzbank in a letter dated May 26 and published Tuesday on Linkedin, saying that the Italian bank’s approach to the second largest German bank was unacceptable.
“This is particularly worth for a bank of systemic importance such as Commerzbank AG,” he wrote, having already expressed against a possible attempt to take over by Unicredit, believing that it would be devastating for Germany.
He warned against “a significant impact” on medium -sized companies and the financing of exports, which strongly depend on bank credit.
“I am very grateful that the Chancellor has expressed himself,” said German finance minister Lars Klingbeil at a press conference in Berlin with his Swedish counterpart, Elisabeth Svantesson.
Unicredit had revealed last year that it had set up a network of financial transactions via derivative products to secure a participation of around 28% in Commerzbank, and obtained in March the approval of the European Central Bank to rise to 29.9%.
According to German rules, crossing the 30% threshold triggers a public purchasing offer.
Unicredit indicated that his participation constituted a financial investment and postponed any decision to a total takeover, which it considers as the most favorable outcome to 2026-2027.
“I recognize that the political declaration of a chancellor is in itself an important political signal,” said Lars Klingbeil.
“But we also conduct political discussions. As soon as results are obtained, they are made public,” he added.
Political leaders in Berlin fear losing one of the last major German commercial banks, as well as linking the country’s economic destiny to that of Italy, strongly in debt.
(Written by Thomas Seythal and Miranda Murray, with John O’Donnell, Noémie Naudin, edited by Kate Entringer)
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