Germany ‘not ready’ to sell Commerzbank stake: Report

AFP, FRANKFURT AM MAIN: Berlin has no plans to sell its stake in Commerzbank, an anonymous government source told newspaper Die Welt yesterday, belying reports a merger could be on the cards for Germany’s second-biggest lender.

“We are absolutely not planning to sell. The losses would be too high,” the unnamed person told the conservative daily.

Citing financial industry sources, Die Welt added that the government hopes to bring in 3.5 billion euros ($4.2 billion) when it eventually cashes out its 15.6-per cent stake.

Commerzbank shares have roughly doubled in value over the past year but a sale at current prices would still represent a loss for the German taxpayer.  The stock needs to make a fresh bound of more than 50 per cent, to around 18 euros, for the state to make a profit.

The shares lost 0.2 per cent to trade at 11.68 euros in Frankfurt around 1200 GMT, slightly underperforming the DAX index of German blue-chip firms.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government bought its Commerzbank stake in 2009 as part of a rescue bid during the financial crisis, and remains the lender’s largest shareholder.

Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told media last month the government did not intend to remain a shareholder indefinitely.

His comments sparked off a flurry of media reports about interest in the Frankfurt institution by foreign banks, with mooted buyers including France’s BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole and Italy’s Unicredit.

Germany not ready to sell Commerzbank stake: Report

AFP, FRANKFURT AM MAIN: Berlin has no plans to sell its stake in Commerzbank, an anonymous government source told newspaper Die Welt yesterday, belying reports a merger could be on the cards for Germanys second-biggest lender. We are absolutely not planning to sell. The losses would be too high, the unnamed person told the conservative daily. Citing financial industry sources, Die Welt added that the government hopes to bring in 3.5 billion euros ($4.2 billion) when it eventually cashes out its 15.6-per cent stake. Commerzbank shares have roughly doubled in value over the past year but a sale at current prices would still represent a loss for the German taxpayer. The stock needs to make a fresh bound of more than 50 per cent, to around 18 euros, for the state to make a profit. The shares lost 0.2 per cent to trade at 11.68 euros in Frankfurt around 1200 GMT, slightly underperforming the DAX index of German blue-chip firms. Chancellor Angela Merkels government bought its Commerzbank stake in 2009 as part of a rescue bid during the financial crisis, and remains the lenders largest shareholder. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told media last month the government did not intend to remain a shareholder indefinitely. His comments sparked off a flurry of media reports about interest in the Frankfurt institution by foreign banks, with mooted buyers including Frances BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole and Italys Unicredit.