Chancellor Friedrich Merz has reiterated his opposition to Commerzbank being taken over by Italy's UniCredit in a letter to the German bank's workers.
UniCredit said last year that it had built a stake of around 28% in Commerzbank and this year it got the green light from the European Central Bank take this up to 29.9%, just under the 30% threshold that would require a formal takeover offer under German law.
Merz said his government was committed to a "strong and independent Commerzbank" in the letter published on LinkedIn by the chairman of the Commerzbank works council, Sascha Uebel.
He said UniCredit's approach was "uncoordinated and hostile" and that this was "unacceptable".
