Market Analysis

Documents reveal that UniCredit spoke with senior German officials prior to Commerzbank purchasing a share

Amos Simanungkalit · 16 Oct 20248.2K Views

Executives from UniCredit engaged in discussions with high-ranking German government officials, including those from the chancellery and the finance ministry, prior to acquiring a portion of the state's stake in Commerzbank (ETR:). This information comes from parliamentary documents reviewed by Reuters.

The records, part of a government response to Matthias Hauer, a German lawmaker, provide the most comprehensive account of interactions between Germany and UniCredit leading up to the Italian bank's acquisition of a significant stake in Commerzbank. The German government has expressed surprise at UniCredit's actions.

Following this acquisition, UniCredit has advocated for a potential merger, representing a significant move towards a pan-European banking consolidation. However, it encounters substantial political challenges in Germany as national elections approach.

Florian Toncar, the state secretary overseeing the stake sale, held discussions with Marion Hoellinger, head of UniCredit's German operations, on September 4 regarding a government agency's announcement about the stake sale, and again on September 10, as indicated in the documents.

On May 16, Chairman Pier Carlo Padoan met Joerg Kukies, a senior official in the German chancellery, during a conference in Paris. The documents also mention two additional interactions with chancellery officials on May 30 and June 7.

While these documents highlight various meetings, they provide limited information about the specifics of the conversations.

Hauer, a member of the Christian Democratic Union, remarked that the response indicates a "lively exchange" between the German government and the Italian bank, calling for further investigation into why the government sold the entire stake exclusively to UniCredit instead of distributing it among multiple investors.

"The German government ... acts as if it had no role in the turmoil at Commerzbank. However, they are responsible for it," he stated.

UniCredit declined to provide comments, and the German finance ministry has yet to respond to requests for information. The German government became Commerzbank's largest shareholder following a bailout during the global financial crisis over a decade ago.