Editorial & Advertiser disclosure

Global Banking and Finance Review is an online platform offering news, analysis, and opinion on the latest trends, developments, and innovations in the banking and finance industry worldwide. The platform covers a diverse range of topics, including banking, insurance, investment, wealth management, fintech, and regulatory issues. The website publishes news, press releases, opinion and advertorials on various financial organizations, products and services which are commissioned from various Companies, Organizations, PR agencies, Bloggers etc. These commissioned articles are commercial in nature. This is not to be considered as financial advice and should be considered only for information purposes. It does not reflect the views or opinion of our website and is not to be considered an endorsement or a recommendation. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information provided with respect to your individual or personal circumstances. Please seek Professional advice from a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. We link to various third-party websites, affiliate sales networks, and to our advertising partners websites. When you view or click on certain links available on our articles, our partners may compensate us for displaying the content to you or make a purchase or fill a form. This will not incur any additional charges to you. To make things simpler for you to identity or distinguish advertised or sponsored articles or links, you may consider all articles or links hosted on our site as a commercial article placement. We will not be responsible for any loss you may suffer as a result of any omission or inaccuracy on the website.

Finance

Former Commerzbank CEO, now shareholder, wants bank to remain standalone

Published by Global Banking and Finance Review

Posted on October 14, 2025

Featured image for article about Finance

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -The former chief executive of Commerzbank, Manfred Knof, wants the German lender to remain independent as Italy's UniCredit pushes for a tie-up, he told a German newspaper.

Knof was CEO of Commerzbank when UniCredit last year began to build up its large stake and press for talks, but he then made way for a successor, Bettina Orlopp, to take the helm as the bank pursued its standalone strategy.

"I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Commerzbank to remain independent. I put a lot of sweat and energy into restructuring the institution. What's more, I still have ties to the bank as a shareholder," Knof told Germany's Handelsblatt in an interview published on Tuesday.

Under Knof, Commerzbank went through a major downsizing, and the Italian bank's push for an ambitious tie-up has led to a another significant overhaul at Germany's second-largest lender.

UniCredit now has a 26% equity stake in Commerzbank and holds another 3% through derivatives.

UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel has argued the benefits of a merger and said last month that he hoped Commerzbank "would see the light over time".

(Reporting by Tom SimsEditing by Madeline Chambers)