© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Manfred Knof, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors Commerzbank speaks at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, February 27, 2023. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo
FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Commerzbank Chief Executive Manfred Knof on Tuesday played down prospects of a possible merger with larger rival Deutsche Bank, saying such a tie-up was not under discussion at his bank and he was striving to keep the bank independent.
The comments come amid heightened speculation that merger talks with Deutsche – which failed in 2019 – could once again come to the fore.
“So I think this is always a topic more for journalists and the media – but not for us,” he told Reuters when asked about a possible tie-up with Deutsche on the sidelines of a conference organized by Die Welt.
The CEO’s comments, the first known public statements on the matter, follow his counterpart at Deutsche, CEO Christian Sewing, who told CNBC last week that mergers and acquisitions were not a priority for him this year.
Knof joined Commerzbank (ETR:) in 2021 and immediately put Germany’s No. 2 lender through a radical overhaul, slashing thousands of jobs and hundreds of branches to restore profitability.
All the while, he had stressed that he aimed to keep the bank independent, a stance he maintained on Tuesday.
He said Commerzbank customers wanted an independent bank financing their activities.
When asked whether independence for him also meant that Commerzbank could operate as a German business of a global bank, Knof said: “Independence means that we are an independent bank and that we have the freedom to act, which is in the interests of our customers.”
The German state is Commerzbank’s largest shareholder, with a stake of more than 15% that dates back to a bailout during the financial crisis. The future of that stake has helped fuel talk of a potential deal.
In an emailed statement last week, a German finance ministry spokesperson said no decision had been made on the government exiting its Commerzbank stake.
Separately, Knof sounded a cautious note on the economy, saying German companies were resilient but that there was “no recognisable dynamic in the economy”.
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