Will Germany's Commerzbank soon be Italian?
Italian bank giant Unicredit is seeking to take over Commerzbank, in which the German state has been the largest single shareholder since the financial crisis. Unicredit wants to take advantage of a gradual sell-off of the state's shares. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said he will oppose a Unicredit takeover. Europe's press comments.
Europe hindered by national interests again
La Stampa sees nationalism as a hurdle:
“For years the ECB and the European Banking Authority (EBA) have been calling for cross-border mergers in the banking sector. But we have not seen any mergers between banks in two countries that could have produced the desired continental champions. ... What is slowing things down in the case of Commerzbank is the same factor that is the main flaw of the EU in its current form: the protection of a misunderstood national interest over joint growth. Commerzbank's internal unions have declared that they have no intention of bowing to the 'conqueror'. ... German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has endorsed these demands, contrary to the advice of his own finance minister. The banking union concept is in danger of becoming nothing more than an empty slogan.”
Sluggish state, sluggish banks
Handelsblatt comments:
“Over the last 16 years the state's stake in Commerzbank has clearly made the bank sluggish. And it hasn't made it significantly bigger or more profitable. With a market capitalisation of less than 20 billion euros, Commerzbank is one of the smaller players in the European banking landscape. Deutsche Bank will be watching Commerzbank's fate closely. Germany's largest financial institution also needs to grow if it doesn't want to end up like its competitor. ... Meanwhile the German government has been wrong-footed by Unicredit. The government didn't want to sell the Italians any more shares. As we can see now, that didn't make much of an impression. It seems the state is not only a bad entrepreneur but also a bad investor.”
German banks struggling
The German financial system is falling behind, Corriere della Sera concludes:
“Whereas Italy, Spain and Ireland have reorganised their banking systems since the financial crisis - for better or for worse - the European authorities never pushed Germany to do the same. The result is that its second largest bank, Commerzbank, has been in the care of the public sector (a topic on which the supervisory authorities remain silent) for no less than 16 years, while its largest bank, Deutsche Bank, is so weak that it is unable to come to its rescue and save it from falling into 'foreign hands'.”
At an impasse
Mediapart takes Berlin to task:
“Like other countries, Germany has done little to help find a solution that prevents states from being exposed to the risks of their banks. This is perhaps one of the accusations that could be levelled at successive German governments. For years they have been a force of resistance to all change – sometimes rightly so – and demanded that their economic, cultural and other circumstances be taken into account, something they have refused everyone else. But at the same time they never presented their own proposals, which has left everyone at an impasse.”