Germany owns 13.3% of Commerzbank and wants UniCredit to promise continued Frankfurt headquarters, a German listing, local decision-making, employment protection and enough capital to preserve Commerzbank's role financing the Mittelstand. UniCredit has secured nearly half the shares, but still needs supervisory clearance to own them.
The contested asset is not merely the bank's earnings stream. Berlin is trying to bind the location of decisions and the future allocation of credit before UniCredit gains effective control of shareholder votes. Reuters