Germany must oppose UniCredit takeover of Commerzbank, employees say
Updates with government statement in paragraph 7, bank responses in paragraph 8, background in paragraphs 9-12
By Tom Sims and Christian Kraemer
FRANKFURT, Sept 20 (Reuters) -Commerzbank CBKG.DE employees and a prominent labour union on Friday called on the German government to oppose a takeover of the German lender by Italy's UniCredit CRDI.MI as workers fear massive job losses if a deal goes through.
The joint statement from the Commerzbank works council and the Verdi union marks the starkest opposition yet by employees of a possible tie-up between the banks.
The two groups said they were calling on the government "to work together with employees for a strong, independent Commerzbank".
The appeal comes days after the Italian bank announced it had bought a 9% stake in Commerzbank - from the German government as well as on the open market - and its chief executive said he wanted to explore a merger.
The German government, which still owns a 12% stake in Commerzbank, will play a key role in whether any deal can take place.
"We call on the German government not to make any hasty decisions regarding the sale of its shares," said Uwe Tschaege, the chairman of Commerzbank's works council.
The German government is "thoroughly analysing" the matter, a government spokesperson said in response to the employee and union demands.
UniCredit wasn't immediately available for comment and Commerzbank didn't immediately respond.
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.
The Italian takeover interest has already prompted a backlash and is an embarrassment for the German government.
UniCredit's swoop is the most ambitious attempt yet at a pan-European bank merger, but it faces considerable political hurdles in Germany.
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, whose ministry manages the Commerzbank holding, said on Thursday the government does not want to stay permanently invested in a bank.
But the government does not currently plan further sales, sources have told Reuters, and Commerzbank has also asked the government to retain its stake for now.
Additional reporting by Valentain Za; editing by Miranda Murray and David Evans
Aset Berkaitan
Berita Terkini
Penafian: Entiti XM Group menyediakan perkhidmatan pelaksanaan sahaja dan akses ke Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian, yang membolehkan sesorang melihat dan/atau menggunakan kandungan yang ada di dalam atau melalui laman web, tidak bertujuan untuk mengubah atau memperluas, juga tidak mengubah atau mengembangkannya. Akses dan penggunaan tersebut tertakluk kepada: (i) Terma dan Syarat; (ii) Amaran Risiko; dan Penafian Penuh. Oleh itu, kandungan sedemikian disediakan tidak lebih dari sekadar maklumat umum. Terutamanya, perlu diketahui bahawa kandungan Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian bukan permintaan, atau tawaran untuk melakukan transaksi dalam pasaran kewangan. Berdagang dalam mana-mana pasaran kewangan melibatkan tahap risiko yang besar terhadap modal anda.
Semua bahan yang diterbitkan di Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian kami bertujuan hanya untuk tujuan pendidikan/maklumat dan tidak mengandungi – dan tidak boleh dianggap mengandungi nasihat kewangan, cukai pelaburan atau dagangan dan cadangan, atau rekod harga dagangan kami, atau tawaran, atau permintaan untuk suatu transaksi dalam sebarang instrumen kewangan atau promosi kewangan yang tidak diminta kepada anda.
Sebarang kandungan pihak ketiga serta kandungan yang disediakan oleh XM, seperti pendapat, berita, penyelidikan, analisis, harga, maklumat lain atau pautan ke laman web pihak ketiga yang terdapat dalam laman web ini disediakan berdasarkan "seadanya" sebagai ulasan pasaran umum dan bukanlah nasihat pelaburan. Sesuai dengan apa-apa kandungan yang ditafsir sebagai penyelidikan pelaburan, anda mestilah ambil perhatian dan menerima bahawa kandungan tersebut tidak bertujuan dan tidak sediakan berdasarkan keperluan undang-undang yang direka untuk mempromosikan penyelidikan pelaburan bebas dan oleh itu, ia dianggap sebagai komunikasi pemasaran di bawah peraturan dan undang-undang yang berkaitan. SIla pastikan bahawa anda telah membaca dan memahami Notifikasi mengenai Penyelidikan Pelaburan Bukan Bebas dan Amaran Risiko mengenai maklumat di atas yang boleh diakses di sini.
