Frankfurt. Commerzbank CEO Bettina Orlopp has reaffirmed the bank's independence amid takeover speculation.
Commerzbank CEO rejects UniCredit merger, warns of corporate client risks
Addressing the bid battle with Italy's UniCredit, Orlopp told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung: "Size alone is not a virtue." She warned that a merger would likely prompt many corporate clients to seek new banks, "because concentrating too much business with a single institution creates a clustering risk."
Orlopp added in her interview with the FAS: "We cannot allow our customers to end up switching to major banks outside the EU. That would certainly not serve the interests of a competitive Germany or Europe." She noted that non-EU banks were already making aggressive inroads into the European market.
Responding to remarks by her UniCredit counterpart, Andrea Orcel—who suggested it was too soon to judge whether she was doing a good job—Orlopp told the FAS: "Everyone has their own style. I prefer to let the numbers speak for themselves. And when I look at them, I can stay very calm—no matter what Mr. Orcel says."
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