Commerzbank will defend the interests of its shareholders amid its ongoing takeover tussle with Italy’s UniCredit, the German lender’s CEO Bettina Orlopp said Friday.
Speaking with CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe”, Orlopp said Commerzbank remains open to discussions with UniCredit — but stressed that the Milan-headquartered bank must recognize the strength of its “reliable, aspirational” standalone strategy in any new talks.
Commerzbank reported a 1.36 billion euro ($1.6 billion) operating profit in its first-quarter results, and is now targeting a net return on tangible equity of 21% by 2030. The German lender expects net interest income to reach about 8.6 billion for 2026.
It is also planning around 3,000 job cuts in order to help reach its targets.
Commerzbank shares were 2.6% lower in early trade. UniCredit was trading 1.9% lower.
Orlopp said UniCredit’s proposal to overhaul Commerzbank should it gain control “does not reflect the strength” of the German bank’s business model. She also criticized the lack of detail on how Commerzbank would be integrated with UniCredit’s Munich-based subsidiary, HypoVereinsbank.
“Given our standalone strategy and the upside potential which we are presenting today, we expect a premium — and our shareholders should expect a premium,” Orlopp told CNBC’s Annette Weisbach in an interview.
“There are very few details on the integration with HVB… there is no detail when it comes to pan-European synergies,” Orlopp said, adding that without a formal European banking union, pan-European synergies remain “tough to realize.”
Commerzbank.
Commerzbank remains “absolutely open” to further talks with UniCredit, Orlopp said.
“But we expect that there’s a willingness to accept the strengths and the cornerstones of our business model, and most importantly a premium for our shareholders,” she added. “We are here to defend the interests of our shareholders.”
UniCredit already holds a 28% stake in Commerzbank and is looking to increase its position to more than 30%, a key regulatory threshold in any acquisition bid.
Orlopp declined to comment on rumors that the German government, which has a 12% stake in Commerzbank, could increase its stake as part of an alternative proposal.
But she said Berlin’s interest reflects the view that UniCredit’s takeover offer would “definitely hurt” Germany’s diverse small- and medium-sized companies, known as the mittelstand, which she called “the backbone of our economy.”
On Monday, UniCredit shareholders voted to approve the issuance of 470 million new shares, which could be exchanged for Commerzbank shares in a tender offer for the German lender.
UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel told CNBC that while he does not expect the Italian lender to gain overall control of Commerzbank, its growing influence has already pushed the German bank’s management to “review everything they need to review and try to extract more value, be more ambitious [and] change things in a better way.”
— CNBC’s Domi Suskova contributed to this story.