German official calls UniCredit move on Commerzbank 'aggressive' and 'unwise'
Recasts, adds detail, background
By Christian Kraemer and John O'Donnell
BERLIN, Sept 25 (Reuters) -A top German official criticised UniCredit's surprise swoop on Commerzbank as 'aggressive' and 'unwise' on Wednesday, cautioning of the risk posed by a hostile takeover and reiterating the government's determination to fend it off.
German finance ministry state secretary Florian Toncar's comments are the latest ratcheting up of pressure on UniCredit CRDI.MI to abort its bid to merge with Commerzbank CBKG.DE.
"It is not wise to proceed too aggressively with a large, highly regulated, complex bank," Toncar said after a closed-door meeting with lawmakers explaining the government's role.
"You always need the stakeholders in the end," he told journalists as the German government faced growing criticism over its handling of a partial sale of the state's stake in the lender that triggered the Italian bank's move.
"The approach chosen, with its strong focus on surprise, concerns many stakeholders who are important for Commerzbank," Toncar added.
Commerzbank, with more than 25,000 business customers, almost a third of German foreign trade payments and more than 42,000 staff, is a linchpin of the German economy, Europe's industrial motor.
The German government still owns 12% of Commerzbank after selling 4.5% of its shares to UniCredit.
Toncar outlined the circumstances around the sale of the stake in the meeting with lawmakers.
Kay Gottschalk, a lawmaker from the ultra-conservative AfD party who attended the meeting, said the government had been naive and mishandled the stake sale.
"The government bears full responsibility. To cause such a disaster for the sake of just 700 million euros has to carry consequences," he told Reuters.
Germany has decided not to sell any more shares, while Commerzbank is battling to stay independent.
Reporting by Christian Kraemer, writing by Maria Martinez, Editing by Madeline Chambers and Alexander Smith
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
