Germany pushes for Commerzbank stock listing as UniCredit aims for deal, sources say

By John O'Donnell, Tom Sims and Valentina Za

BERLIN/FRANKFURT, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Berlin will push for Commerzbank to retain its German identity with a domestic stock market listing and to protect jobs, two people familiar with the matter said, as the bank prepares for a takeover by Italy's UniCredit.

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil will outline the demands during a planned meeting with UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel in Berlin on Monday, after a failed attempt to stymie a drawn-out takeover of Germany's second-biggest bank.

A combination of UniCredit and Commerzbank would create a bank with more than €1.3 trillion in assets across two of the euro zone's largest economies.

This would align with the European Central Bank's long-standing push for greater cross-border consolidation in European banking. Reuters has reported that the central bank is leaning towards approving the transaction.

Germany's finance ministry declined to comment. A spokesperson for Commerzbank also declined to comment. A representative for UniCredit declined to elaborate on the meeting.

Orcel pounced on Commerzbank in 2024, taking the lender and the government off guard by discreetly building up a holding. Commerzbank and Berlin tried to prevent the takeover, but threw in the towel after UniCredit amassed a stake nearing 50%.

Now German officials are hoping to protect jobs as well as the brand of a bank that plays a critical role in financing the medium-sized companies in Europe's largest economy, whose government is in the throes of a political crisis. Orcel has said he foresees 7,000 staff reductions at Commerzbank.

Both sources, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation, said that government officials wanted Commerzbank to remain listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange, although it would be controlled by UniCredit. Previously asked about whether UniCredit would consider leaving Commerzbank as a listed entity, Orcel has said the Italian bank would do what makes the most economic sense.

It was also critical that Commerzbank's business of granting credit to German firms remains intact, they added.

One of the people said that Klingbeil would ask that there be no forced redundancies and that the government, which has a 12% shareholding in Commerzbank, could keep its right to appoint two non-executive directors, retaining some influence.

Orcel has pursued Commerzbank despite fierce public opposition from Berlin but last week his opposite number at the German bank, Bettina Orlopp, said that talks were underway and should be approached "in a positive spirit".

"It is now our task to work together constructively to find a strategy for both institutions that maximizes value as much as possible," Orlopp said.

(Reporting by John O'Donnell and Tom Sims; additional reporting by Maria Martinez, Christian Kraemer and Philipp Krach; Editing by Alexander Smith)