Italy's deputy PM raises issue of UniCredit's legal base in Commerzbank deal
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Thursday he would not want UniCredit (CRDI.MI) to shift its legal base to Germany as part of a possible deal with Commerzbank (CBKG.DE), and that Rome was still considering its position on a tie-up.
UniCredit this month said it had bought a 9% stake in Commerzbank and later raised its holding to about 21%, conditional on European Central Bank approval, using derivative instruments. It wants to buy more shares and has pressed for discussions to explore a tie-up, in the most ambitious attempt yet at a pan-European bank merger.
"I cannot say that the government would oppose it, we are considering various hypotheses, but I would not be in favour," Salvini told a news conference in Rome, making clear he wanted UniCredit to keep its central functions in Italy, confirming an earlier Reuters report.
"We are looking at a discussion between private players", said Salvini, leader of the co-ruling League party in Giorgia Meloni's right-wing coalition, adding the Italian government was still considering its position.
Earlier on Thursday, Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said in Brussels a potential deal between the two banks would be "good" and it was important to have banks with a "supranational and European dimension."
The group stemming from a UniCredit-Commerzbank merger would have almost 60% of its customer loans in Germany, according to Reuters calculations.
Sources said last week UniCredit would seek supervisory approval to potentially acquire up to 30% of Commerzbank.
While the Italian government has so far kept a cautious stance on the issue, the potential takeover has sparked tensions in Germany where Commerzbank's management, employees and the nation's chancellor, Olaf Scholz, have all voiced opposition.
A previous attempt by former UniCredit CEO Jean Pierre Mustier to move on Commerzbank met with political opposition in Italy due to plans to create a German holding company to lead the bank's business.
Italian politicians have traditionally looked with concern at cross-border mergers of their lenders due to the role they play in supporting the Treasury in refinancing the country’s nearly 3 trillion euro public debt.
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