Commerzbank: In the dispute with Unicredit, Meloni is relying on dialogue with Berlin

New sounds in the takeover battle

Meloni relies on dialogue in the Commerzbank dispute

The Italian Unicredit has been trying to take over the German Commerzbank for months. Now Rome’s head of government Meloni is joining the debate.

In the dispute over the takeover of the Commerzbank through the major Italian bank Unicredit, the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is relying on talks with the German authorities. “I hope that there will be a positive dialogue between the bank and the German authorities,” Meloni told the business newspaper “Milano Finanza” on Friday.

At the same time, the Italian government insisted that Unicredit must retain its Italian roots.

• Federal: Unicredit’s approach is unacceptable
• Turn: Commerzbank doubles profits and wants to talk to Unicredit

The dispute over the takeover of the for middle class important German commercial bank has been straining German-Italian relations for months. Just last week, a spokesman for Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) stated: “Unicredit’s aggressive and hostile actions remain from the point of view of the Federal Government unacceptable.”

The federal government supported Commerzbank during the Corona crisis and still holds twelve percent of the credit institution. Unicredit had previously taken over shares almost like a coup. Commerzbank had long resisted a takeover. At the beginning of August, Commerzbank boss Bettina Orlopp surprisingly changed courset and had admitted. “We have started discussions about this.”

“I am optimistic that step by step we can find common ground in terms of corporate management and the business model,” Orlopp continued. Discussions would be in the interests of both banks to create value for shareholders, customers and employees. The federal government is included in the discussions as the second largest shareholder. “We are in close coordination.”

The major Italian bank had secured almost half of the shares. However, Unicredit has not yet been able to govern with this, emphasized Orlopp. “Even if the UniCredit “If the bank has a majority at the next general meeting, it cannot decide on essential structural measures alone,” explained the Commerzbank boss. “This is a clear design mandate for both sides.” This requires a common understanding of the business model and the involvement of all those involved.

Unicredit boss Andrea Orcel had announced that he would talk to the federal government and the works council about a shared future for his company with Commerzbank. The Italian did not mention Bettina Orlopp, the Commerzbank board member, as a conversation partner. Commerzbank supervisory board chairman Jens Weidmann, on the other hand, had called on Unicredit to hold direct talks with the board and thereby admitted that there was no way around a takeover of power by the major Milan bank.