German Finance Minister Jörg Kukies (SPD) has issued a clear warning to Italian big bank Unicredit, which has recently significantly increased its stake in Commerzbank.
“We consider this an unfriendly act, Unicredit has publicly expressed a different opinion” Kukies told the “Rheinische Post” (Monday edition). “Hostile takeovers in a sensitive field like systemically relevant banks are generally harmful and not successful. We are more than surprised by the repeatedly uncoordinated, unfriendly behavior of Unicredit” he said.
When asked what the government could do against a hostile takeover of Commerzbank, he said: “Unicredit has clearly said in the late summer that it will make its investment dependent on the support of all parties involved and can also reverse its investment.” “Credibility and trust are a very high good, especially for systemically relevant large banks” he said.