Andrea Orcel sees advantages in the merger of the two banks for private customers and small and medium-sized businesses. At the same time, Commerzbank must become more profitable, he demands – and names savings opportunities.
Shortly after joining Commerzbank, the head of the major Italian bank Unicredit is promoting a takeover of Germany’s second-largest private bank. “A merger of the two banks could lead to considerable added value for all stakeholders and would create a much stronger competitor on the German banking market,” Unicredit boss Andrea Orcel told the “Handelsblatt” (Monday). “Private customers could be better supported and German medium-sized companies could be strengthened with financing and supported more comprehensively internationally.”
There is very little overlap between the two institutions, said Orcel. “It would therefore be possible to create a bank that complements each other well geographically and is very well balanced with private customer and corporate business.” There are opportunities for savings, especially in the central functions.
Claims on Commerzbank management
“It is important that Commerzbank strengthens its balance sheet, grows and becomes more profitable at the same time,” said Orcel. “The current management has made significant progress here, but in my opinion much more can be done.”
The return on equity of the Unicredit subsidiary Hypo-Vereinsbank (HVB) is twice as high as that of Commerzbank. Its cost-to-income ratio is 20 percentage points lower than that of Commerzbank. Orcel continued by saying that he is not aiming for a seat on the supervisory board of the DAX group. However, he wants to “have a constructive dialogue” with the Commerzbank management when the time is right.
Unicredit took advantage of the federal government’s gradual withdrawal from its stake in Commerzbank and surprisingly made a large-scale investment in the DAX-listed company. The Italians acquired a 4.5 percent stake from the federal government and also bought shares on the market, meaning they now hold nine percent of the shares. The Verdi union fears that many jobs will be lost and wants to fight against a takeover of the bank.
Source: Stern
