By Tom Sims and John O’Donnell
BERLIN (Reuters) -The chief executive of Germany’s Commerzbank snubbed overtures for a takeover by Italy’s UniCredit, saying on Monday he had his own plans for the bank and hoped it could stay independent.
UniCredit, Italy’s second-largest bank, snapped up a stake of 9% in Commerzbank, catching Germany’s politicians off guard, who sold down the state’s holding without realising UniCredit would pounce, according to people familiar with the matter.
“We are naturally convinced about our own plans,” Commerzbank CEO Manfred Knof told reporters, confirming, when asked, that he still wanted the bank to remain independent.
“We are all working with maximum energy and power on the implementation of our plan and strategy,” he said, outlining the bank’s first official response to suggestions it be taken over by the larger Italian lender.
Earlier on Monday, UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel told a German newspaper that a merger of the two banks could add value and create a stronger bank.
But Knof said the bank was already prospering, and that management had laid out its position to its biggest shareholder, the German government, on the importance of a strong Commerzbank for the country’s standing as a financial centre.
He added nonetheless that management would look at any proposals from UniCredit in line with their obligations to stakeholders.
Commerzbank, with more than 25,000 business customers, almost a third of German foreign trade payments and more than 42,000 staff, is a linchpin of the German economy, Europe’s industrial motor.
(Additional reporting by Klaus Lauer, writing by John O’Donnell, editing by Rachel More and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
