“Adopting hostile and uncooperative methods for an aggressive takeover of a systemic bank like Commerzbank is inappropriate,” blasted Jörg Kukies, the Social Democratic minister who took office last week.
The new German Minister of Finance denounced on Tuesday the intrusion of the Italian bank UniCredit into the capital of its German rival Commerzbank, taking up the position of the social democratic chancellor Olaf Scholz, candidate for his re-election.
“Adopting hostile and uncooperative methods for an aggressive takeover of a systemic bank like Commerzbank is inappropriate,” blasted Jörg Kukies, the Social Democratic minister who took office last week.
“Hostile takeovers are not what we need for stable banks, whether in Europe or in Germany,” added Mr. Kukies, a former investment banker until now an advisor to Olaf Scholz.
Mr. Kukies replaced at short notice the liberal Christian Lindner, dismissed after yet another dispute within the government.
His mandate will be short-lived since a new German government must emerge after early legislative elections which will be called for February 23.
UniCredit took the markets and the German government by surprise by announcing in September first the acquisition of 9% of its rival Commerzbank – including a 4.5% block purchased from the State shareholder since 2008 -, then its rise at 21% of the capital, subject to the required authorizations.
Berlin, which still holds 12% of the group’s shares, has decided not to sell any further Commerzbank shares for the moment.
“Hostile attacks, forced takeovers are not good for banks,” Olaf Scholz declared at the end of September. An antiphon that the now candidate for re-election should repeat during the brief electoral campaign to come.
The German executive supports the strategy defended by Commerzbank focused on independence.
Jörg Kukies also announced a “Franco-German initiative” to “fill the lack of banking capital” and support the objectives of the European Commission on the securitization and savings markets.
Securitization allows a bank to free up part of its own funds – which would otherwise have been used to cover the risks associated with the loans that it will sell to investors – in order to lend more to the economy.
Germany and France also wish to work together to “reduce by 25% the obligations regarding the publication of information in Europe” as committed by the president of the Brussels executive Ursula von der Leyen, added the minister. .
“We will consult our respective industries to determine how this reduction can be achieved in practice on a European scale,” he concluded.
