Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank’s chief executives have resumed talks over a potential merger, Focus magazine reported on Friday, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.
Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing has been in intense talks with Commerzbank CEO Martin Zielke for some days, after receiving a mandate from their management and supervisory boards, according to Bloomberg.
The idea of a merger between Germany’s two biggest banks has been pushed by German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz as a way of creating a “national champion” to serve the backbone of the country’s export economy.
In September, Sewing said his bank was open to a merger, but only once it boosts its profitability over the following 18 months. The lender’s ability to avoid a merger with Commerzbank could rest on its performance in the first quarter of 2019, Bloomberg reported in January.
Revenue shrank for an eighth consecutive quarter in the final months of last year, leading Sewing to pledge yet more cost cuts.
