Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 12, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleCommerzbank CEO Bettina Orlopp criticizes UniCredit for undermining the share price, emphasizing the bank's independence and fair valuation.
By Tom Sims and Matthias Inverardi
FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Commerzbank CEO Bettina Orlopp on Thursday criticized the Italian bank UniCredit for talking down the share price of the German lender by saying its shares had risen excessively.
The comments by Commerzbank's CEO come a day after Andrea Orcel, the CEO of UniCredit, called Commerzbank's share price not reflective of fundamentals.
"We do not like and we do not accept any approach which basically undermines our strategy and our share price development," Orlopp said at a conference.
UniCredit has acquired a large stake in the German lender and has been pushing for a takeover, despite resistance from Commerzbank management and the government, which is another top shareholder.
Orlopp said that Commerzbank's share price, which has more than doubled since UniCredit bought in, is fair and condemned the attempt to "talk our share price down just because there might be also some other interests in play".
Her comments reveal increasing frustration with UniCredit's advances.
In May, Orlopp said, "we don't need constant interference from the outside".
Orlopp said that while she would be open to all shareholders, "there's one important shareholder, and that is the German government, and we respect their interest in Commerzbank being a very strong and independent Commerzbank".
(Reporting by Tom Sims and Matthias InverardiEditing by Madeline Chambers and Thomas Seythal)
Commerzbank CEO Bettina Orlopp criticized UniCredit for undermining their share price by suggesting it had risen excessively, stating that they do not accept such approaches.
Commerzbank's share price has more than doubled since UniCredit acquired a stake in the bank, which Orlopp believes is fair.
UniCredit has acquired a significant stake in Commerzbank and is pushing for a takeover, despite resistance from Commerzbank's management and the German government.
Orlopp mentioned that Commerzbank does not need constant interference from outside parties, emphasizing the importance of the German government as a key shareholder.
Her comments were made at a conference following remarks by UniCredit's CEO Andrea Orcel, who claimed Commerzbank's share price was not reflective of its fundamentals.
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