EU antitrust chief urges EU countries to back cross-border bank deals

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS, June 17 (Reuters) - Europe's antitrust chief Teresa Ribera on Wednesday urged EU countries to back cross-border bank mergers to help complete the single market, a day after Germany rejected Italian bank UniCredit's offer for German rival Commerzbank.

Ribera's comments echoed those of EU policymakers who have recently renewed calls for cross-border bank mergers to address the multi-trillion-euro investments needed to finance the bloc's green and digital transformation.

A plan for a fully-fledged banking union has stalled, with bankers and supervisors pointing to the absence of a joint guarantee system for euro zone depositors as the biggest impediment to its progress.

"Completing the Single Market remains one of Europe's most urgent competitiveness priorities. Cross border mergers of our large European banks would help in that direction. It is urgently needed," Ribera told a conference.

"Member States should applaud these deals for the overall good," she said.

Germany on Tuesday officially rejected UniCredit's offer for German rival Commerzbank shares, citing a low price and concerns about what it called the Italian bank's aggressive approach.

Ribera criticised countries which call for pan-European champions but refuse to take the necessary measures to support such goals.

"Europe cannot simultaneously argue that it needs globally competitive firms and refuse to examine whether its analytical frameworks properly reflect the realities of global competition, technological transformation and investment needs," she said.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, Editing by Louise HeavensEditing by Tomasz Janowski)