BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said Europe should continue to move towards unification of the banking market. “Europe needs a stronger capital markets system and needs greater unity in the banking system,” said Fink.
At the same time, the head of BlackRock refused to comment on the possible takeover of the German bank Commerzbank by the Italian financial group UniCredit. Ag. Bloomberg recalls that the investment company is the largest shareholder in UniCredit and the third largest holder of Commerzbank securities.
On September 23, the DPA agency reported that UniCredit had acquired additional shares of Commerzbank. The financial group gained access to another 11.5% of the shares through financial instruments, bringing its expected share to around 21%. UniCredit said it has applied for official permission to increase its stake to 29.9%. Thus, the official takeover offer of Commerzbank becomes more likely, the agency points out.
The German government, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, opposes the acquisition of Commerzbank by the Italian financial group. The German bank stressed that if the deal with UniCredit goes through, it risks losing two-thirds of its jobs.
On September 20, the German Financial Agency announced that German authorities no longer plan to sell state-owned Commerzbank shares. The German government became the owner of part of the bank's shares as a result of the financial crisis of 2008-2009, when it lent more than 18 billion euros to stabilize the business. On September 4, the authorities announced their intention to sell the bank's shares in stages. On September 11, the Financial Agency reported that the German government had sold a 4.49% stake in Commerzbank to the Italian group UniCredit. As a result of the transaction, the share of state participation in the bank decreased from 16.49% to 12%.
As DPA pointed out, the German authorities did not expect the Italians to acquire shares in the institute so quickly and in such quantities. On September 12, UniCredit CEO Andrea Orsel said the banking group was considering a full takeover of Commerzbank. The DPA links the German government's decision to no longer sell shares specifically to UniCredit's actions. At the end of June, Commerzbank, according to the financial institute's own data, employed 38,700 people worldwide, of which more than 25,000 in Germany.