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Senior European policymakers and economists have harshly criticized the German government for opposing the takeover of Commerzbank by Italian rival UniCredit, arguing that the protectionist approach goes against fundamental EU principles. are.
“Cross-border bank integration should not be seen as a political issue; it is a technical issue,” Bank of Greece Governor Yanis Stourunalas told the Financial Times. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a German bank or an Italian bank. What matters is that it’s a strong European bank.”
In response to UniCredit’s move into Commerzbank, Germany’s second-largest listed financial institution, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said the Italian bank would increase its stake in the bank from 9% to 21%, pending regulatory approval. They opposed the company’s move.
Days earlier, the German government had decided to halt further sales of Commerzbank’s remaining 12% stake after it sold a 4.5% stake to UniCredit in a post-market block deal in early September.
“Unfriendly attack [and] “The German government has made its position clear because a hostile takeover is not good for banks,” Scholz said.
Reuters reported last week that German Finance Minister Christian Lindner also shared concerns about Commerzbank’s hostile takeover with Italy’s finance ministry.
Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany’s opposition Christian Democratic Union, said a partnership between the two banks would be a “disaster for the German banking market,” adding that UniCredit’s 2005 acquisition of Munich-based Hippoferreinsbank was worth a huge sum. It was claimed that this resulted in job losses. .
But economists and officials in Brussels and other European capitals argue that Berlin’s opposition to a possible merger ignores support for the German capital markets union and the integration of the EU’s banking sector. There is.
A former EU commissioner, speaking to the Financial Times on condition of anonymity, said: “There is a huge gap between the German government’s support for the creation of a European champion like Airbus and its current position on the UniCredit/Commerzbank situation. said there is a certain contradiction. .
The person said it would be “difficult” to oppose a partnership between the two banks “if the German government seriously supports European integration and the banking union.”
Greece’s Stournaras argues that Europe’s banking sector is being weakened by its “fragmentation” along national borders, and that the strong performance of US banks is largely due to increased bank size and tighter integration. He added that this was driven by the domestic market.
“We need a European banking champion who can compete with US competitors, and we need cross-border integration to get a stronger bank,” he said, adding that UniCredit’s recent 9% stake in Greek Alpha Bank He added that the acquisition was “welcome from all quarters.” ” in Greece.
Meanwhile, an Italian minister told the FT that Berlin’s approach was “hypocritical” given Rome’s approval of Lufthansa’s recent acquisition of Italy’s ailing national carrier, formerly Alitalia. He said that.
“Germany has always been pro-EU and they have been lecturing us all on paper about the banking union and the single market for decades. [Meloni’s government] They are nationalists, but when it comes to [Commerzbank] become italian [competitor’s] “Targeting is called a hostile act,” the minister said.
Officials in Brussels are similarly outraged by Germany’s stance. They come days after former ECB President Mario Draghi published a report calling on the EU to complete its capital markets union and advocating mergers to create stronger companies. He pointed out that he had done so.
“Literally days after the Draghi report, after new efforts to advance capital market integration were launched, Berlin did this and virtually dismantled everything,” said a senior EU diplomat.
A European Commission spokesperson declined to comment on the matter without “fully evaluating” the proposed merger. But they added: “Restrictions on fundamental freedoms [of the EU related to movement of capital, people and goods] This is only permitted if it is based on legitimate interests. . . Such restrictions cannot be justified on purely economic grounds. ”
Even within Germany, some people question the Scholz administration’s approach. Stefan Koos, head of economic research at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, said the issue clearly shows that German policymakers “do not properly understand what the Capital Markets Union and the Single Market mean”. “Companies don’t have passports,” he said. ”.
He said the only public authorities with the right to object are banking supervisory authorities and antitrust authorities.
“Unfortunately, this debate shows that we here in the EU are not actually following the rules of the single market as they were actually intended,” he said.
