EU antitrust regulators to decide on UniCredit's Commerzbank deal by November 16

Unicredit, SpA

09/10/2026 13:15

By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Italian bank UniCredit CRDI.MI has sought EU antitrust approval for its takeover of German peer Commerzbank CBKG.DE, with regulators setting a November 16 deadline for their decision, according to a European Commission filing on Friday.
The deal underscores Italian banks' recent appetite for consolidation, with regulators backing cross-border mergers to create European champions. The German government owns 13.3% ‌of Commerzbank. UniCredit has already secured nearly half ​of Commerzbank's share capital. 
The Commission, which is the EU competition enforcer, can either clear the deal with or without concessions during its preliminary review, or it can open a full-scale investigation if it has serious concerns.
The European Central Bank was leaning towards approving the takeover, Reuters reported in August. 
     

 (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Joe Bavier)
 ((foo.yunchee@thomsonreuters.com; +32 2 585 28 66))