Bafin has ordered Unicredit to remove online advertisements that criticized Commerzbank as neglected, insecure and short-term oriented, marking an unusual regulatory intervention in a cross-border bank takeover battle.
The ads, which ran alongside a conference call where Andrea Orcel promoted a takeover and attacked Commerzbank’s leadership, portrayed the Frankfurt-based lender under UniCredit control as strong, competitive and a leading provider — a stark contrast meant to sway investor opinion. Unicredit has since taken the advertisements down following the regulator’s directive.
Finance insiders in Frankfurt say Chancellor Friedrich Merz has failed to provide clear guidance in the dispute, leaving the federal government’s position ambiguous and emboldening Orcel, whom critics describe as dismissive of political signals due to his “Riesen-Ego.” One financier told WELT AM SONNTAG that Merz should pick up the phone and issue a direct command to Orcel, or even involve Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni if necessary.
Merz had previously told the Bundesverband Deutscher Banken’s 75th anniversary that Europe needs large banks but rejected hostile takeovers outright — a statement now being parsed in financial circles as either principled restraint or dangerous indecision in the face of an aggressive Italian bid.
Commerzbank pushed back hard on Orcel’s characterization of its business model, calling it a misunderstanding. In a 34-page presentation earlier this week, Orcel had labeled the bank overdimensioned, fragmented, risky, operationally complex and inefficient, particularly targeting its corporate banking division.
A Commerzbank spokesperson countered that Orcel appears unfamiliar with the bank’s actual structure, noting he listed countries in its international network where the bank has no physical presence. Michael Kotzbauer, head of corporate banking, defended the bank’s model in the same interview, arguing that Germany’s economic success rests not only on exports but on deep integration into global markets — a distinction he said sets the German economy apart from others.
The episode highlights a growing tension between market-driven consolidation and political oversight in European banking, where national champions are increasingly weighed against the efficiency arguments of cross-border mergers. For now, the takeover attempt remains unresolved, with Commerzbank defending its independence and UniCredit recalibrating its public approach after the regulatory rebuke.
Why did Bafin intervene in the UniCredit-Commerzbank dispute?
Bafin acted after finding that UniCredit’s online ads contained unsubstantiated and disparaging claims about Commerzbank’s management and strategy, which violated rules requiring factual and objective communication in financial advertising, especially during a takeover context.
What does Commerzbank say about UniCredit’s critique of its business model?
Commerzbank rejects UniCredit’s portrayal of it as inefficient and overly complex, arguing that the criticism stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of its international operations and the role of corporate banking in Germany’s export-driven economy.
