Since Monday afternoon, that is, since when Olaf Scholz he entered the operation with determination Unicredit Commerzbank, speaking of “unfriendly attacks” and “hostile takeovers”, a rift is spreading between Milan, Frankfurt and Brussels certain embarrassment. Many are wondering how the German Chancellor's reaction on the one hand can coexist with the need to push the capital market on the other. Just a few weeks ago, among other things, the Draghi Report on Competitiveness had defined the single capital market as one of the cornerstones for the growth of the European Union. But then, when it comes down to it, the music seems to be very different.
The Tajani-Scholz exchange
On Monday morning, Unicredit announced that it had increased its stake in Commerzbank to 21% and to have asked the ECB to be able to go up to 29,9%. A few hours later, Chancellor Olaf Scholz intervened directly from New York, commenting very harshly on the operation: “Unfriendly attacks, hostile takeovers are not a good thing for banks. The government has positioned itself clearly and he says clearly: we believe that it is not appropriate in Europe and in Germany to proceed with unfriendly methods, without any spirit of cooperation and without agreeing on anything, to participate in an enterprise", he said.
A clear stance against the merger which is counterbalanced by the words of the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, according to which "being pro-European only in words leaves a bit to be desired". "Often - he added - Italy is asked to open the doors to privatizations, to the presence of foreigners, and then when Italian companies go outside the borders it is said 'then no', we must defend the reality of those countries".
EU Commission: “Mergers could make banks more resilient”
Answering a question from journalists during the usual daily press briefing, the EU Commission he did not want to comment on the Unicredit-Commerzbank operation, but Brussels' position can be deduced (perhaps) from the words of another spokesperson, according to whom "Mergers could make banks more resilient to shocks through greater asset diversification, would allow European banks to have more efficient business models, pursue growth strategies and invest in digitalisation”.
“Market integration – he continued – should always be combined with adequate guarantees to protect financial stability in all Member States. Larger and more diversified global banks would benefit the European economy, but of course small and medium-sized banks remain essential for local economies, for competition and therefore for depositors and consumers”.
A position similar to that expressed by the president of the ECB Christine Lagard, that last September 12th, answering a question about theAcquisition of 9% of Commerzbank on the part of Unicredit, said: “Typically we do not comment on individual companies” but “the Banking consolidation at European level is something that is welcome for a long time from various quarters and it will be interesting to see how it proceeds in the weeks to come.”
Minister Lindner: “The government cannot remain involved in a private bank.”
"The federal government cannot, must not and does not want to be involved in a private bank in the long term," said the German Finance Minister. Christian Lindner, as reported by the website of the Frankfurter Rundshau, during a round table discussion. Lindner then explained that "the behavior of Unicredit has upset many shareholders in Germany, which is why the German government has decided not to sell any more shares” in Commerzbank. Asked how a takeover of Commerzbank by UniCredit could be prevented, the finance minister said: “That is a matter for the board of directors and the supervisory board of Commerzbank.” He also said that “the federal government has always made it clear that Commerzbank must be privatized.”
ECB and Bafin: transparent operation
In the meantime, so be it Paphos, the German supervisory authority, which ECB, would judge the operation carried out by Unicredit to be "transparent". According to the Sun 24 Hours, in fact, for the two authorities the Italian bank "would be behaving in a transparent manner, thus respecting one of the general principles regarding qualified participations, which is precisely that of transparency. Furthermore, the use of derivatives is foreseen in the procedure on qualified participation".
