Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 4, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleCommerzbank's official urges UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel to drop merger plans due to strong opposition from German entities.
By Tom Sims and Matthias Inverardi
FRANKFURT (Reuters) -UniCredit's recent push for a tie-up with Commerzbank has prompted calls by a top official of the German bank for the Italian lender's CEO, Andrea Orcel, to abandon the pursuit.
With UniCredit continuing to face fierce resistance in Germany, Orcel last month sent a flurry of letters to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and others, urging them to come to the table to discuss a deal.
But the latest offensive, which only became public this week, has come up against steadfast resistance from Sascha Uebel, deputy chair of Commerzbank's supervisory board, adding to previous opposition from the German government and the bank's board since UniCredit's initial approach last September.
"His next step should be to sell his shares, take his profits and go home," Uebel told Reuters on Friday.
UniCredit, which last year bought a large stake in the Commerzbank and began to press for a merger, declined to comment.
In his letters, Orcel wrote that a tie-up would be beneficial "economically, socially and politically" and would create a new national banking champion for Germany.
Orcel was also given short shrift by the Verdi labour union, which said its concerns had not been allayed, according to copies of their correspondence seen by Reuters.
"We are continuing to campaign against a merger and are in favour of an independent Commerzbank," Verdi boss Frank Werneke wrote to Orcel in a response dated July 2.
(Reporting by Tom Sims and Matthias InverardiEditing by Miranda Murray and David Goodman)
Sascha Uebel suggested that UniCredit's CEO, Andrea Orcel, should sell his shares, take his profits, and go home.
UniCredit has been pushing for a merger with Commerzbank, claiming it would be beneficial economically, socially, and politically.
The Verdi labour union has expressed strong opposition to the merger, stating that their concerns have not been addressed and advocating for an independent Commerzbank.
Andrea Orcel sent letters to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other officials, urging them to discuss the potential benefits of a merger.
Sascha Uebel, deputy chair of Commerzbank's supervisory board, reiterated the bank's resistance to the merger, emphasizing that Orcel should reconsider his approach.
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