is reportedly preparing staff cuts in its efforts to fend off tie-up advances by Italian banking group, UniCredit, multiple people told Reuters news agency.
Commerzbank has been advocating its case to stand alone as an independent company, with the bank warning that a merger could lead to significant job losses, with Reuters reporting that some 3,000 to 4,000 people could lose their jobs if the two banks combine.
Commerzbank has a workforce of some 42,000 employees, with the bank’s supervisory board slated to discuss cost cuts and news goals with management at an all-day meeting on Wednesday. The bank is due to present the new strategy on Thursday.
For months, Commerzbank’s management, under the leadership of CEO Bettina Orlopp, has been working to update the strategy to reveal the “significant value potential” of Germany’s second largest bank.
Why has UniCredit bought a stake in Commerzbank?
UniCredit announced last year it had increased its stake in Commerzbank to around 21% after it acquired a 9% stake. The Milan-based bank also announced it had requested the European Central Bank’s permission to raise its stake to 29.9% — just short of the 30% threshold that would require it to make a public offer for the entire bank.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has previously described UniCredit’s stake buildup and a potential takeover as an “unfriendly” and “hostile” attack. Commerzbank, which is partly state-owned and has labeled UniCredit’s moves as hostile, declined to comment.
Boris Rhein, the premier of Commerzbank’s home state of Hesse, told a gathering of Germany’s financial elite on Monday that UniCredit needed to give up. “Nobody wants what you are doing. Withdraw!” Rhein said.
Andrea Orcel, the CEO of UniCredit, said in an interview last month with German newspaper FAZ that he hoped to discuss a planned takeover with the new German government.
Edited by: Roshni Majumdar
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