Regulators to scrutinise any Commerzbank-UniCredit deal, Nagel says

BERLIN (Reuters) – The head of Germany’s central bank said on Friday that authorities would take a “very close look” at UniCredit’s overtures to potentially buy Germany’s Commerzbank (ETR:CBKG), a sign that any deal would come under intense scrutiny.

The comments by Joachim Nagel, head of the Bundesbank, are the most extensive by a top supervisor since Italy’s second-largest bank swooped to take a 9% stake in Commerzbank.

That move caught German authorities off guard and got a hostile reception from local management who want to fend it off.

Nagel, speaking in an interview with German Radio, said what matters most is that business models complement each other and that the resulting bank is competitive.

“The supervisory authorities will also take a very close look at this,” Nagel said.

A takeover by Unicredit (BIT:CRDI) would be a rare cross-border bank merger within Europe, and the biggest attempt at a deal since Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank briefly held merger talks in 2019 before calling them off.

Nagel said strong banks were needed, a common refrain from authorities and bankers for whom the tumult of the global financial crisis and the stresses of the ensuing years are still fresh.

“In this case, it will also depend precisely on how we can succeed in ensuring a robust, strong banking market here. And I am confident that the players here will act responsibly,” Nagel said.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde told reporters on Thursday: “Cross-border mergers have been hoped for by many authorities, and it will be very interesting to see that process unfold in the weeks to come.”