Bundeskartellamt permits Unicredit to enter Commerzbank entry | EUROtoday

The Bundeskartellamt has no issues that the competitors in Germany may endure an excessive amount of because of a doable merger of Commerzbank and HypoVereinsbank (HVB). Therefore, the Bonn authority authorised the mother or father firm of the HVB on Monday, the Italian financial institution Unicredit that it could improve its share of shares at Commerzbank to 29.99 p.c. The ECB Unicredit banking supervision had beforehand authorised this. Unicredit at present holds 9.5 p.c at Commerzbank, however has secured entry to different Commerzbank shares by way of derivatives and with the assistance of pleasant banks corresponding to Barclays, Jefferies and Citigroup.

The Bundeskartellamt has checked “fusion law points of view”. “Already due to the registered minority acquisition, there is a strengthening of the market position of the Unicredit in private and corporate customer business in Germany. We therefore viewed the particularly affected financial services,” mentioned President Andreas Mundt and drew as a conclusion: “Other important competitors are active in all areas, which is why the project was released.” As the Kartellamt explains, Commerzbank has a “partly strong to market -leading position” within the nationwide markets for overseas commerce financial institution providers (“Trade Finance”) corresponding to documentary credit score, debt assortment and financial institution ensures, on which the Unicredit additionally works. “However, various competitors also have an important market position and the potential to expand their market position, so that after the merger, relevant alternative alternatives remain for the customers,” says the cartel workplace. The similar applies to the phase of consortial loans to medium -sized corporations.

The Kartellamt Deutsche Bank and DZ Bank, the Landesbanken Helaba, LBBW and Bavaria LB in addition to the State Bank KfW, mentions as opponents. There can also be sufficient competitors within the department enterprise with financial savings banks, VR banks and overseas banks, even when there can be an affiliation of Commerzbank and HVB.

From a share of 30 p.c, the Italian financial institution UniCredit must make the shareholders of Commerzbank a takeover supply. However, she comes throughout the resistance of the Commerzbank board and the Federal Government, which nonetheless belongs to 12 p.c within the financial institution within the 2008/2009 monetary disaster. The Federal Ministry of Finance confirmed on Monday: “The Federal Government supports the Commerzbank strategy based on independence and the ambitious financial goals announced in February,” mentioned a spokesman for the Ministry of Finance in Berlin. “The Federal Government has repeatedly made it clear that it rejected an unfortunate and unfriendly approach and that enemy takeovers in the banking sector are not appropriate, especially when it comes to systematic changes.”