Deals
For Ackermann, America First Means Europe Needs Bank Mergers
- Ex-Deutsche Bank CEO says Commerzbank merger more viable today
- Ackermann speaks on Bloomberg TV, 10 years after Lehman crisis
Josef Ackermann.
Photographer: Stefan Wermuth/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
When he ran Deutsche Bank AG, Josef Ackermann resisted merging with Commerzbank AG. Ten years after the Lehman Brothers crisis, he says a merger involving Europe’s major banks could be the financial champion Europe needs in an era of Donald Trump’s “America First.”
In investment banking, “the U.S. is absolutely taking over. Is that good? In a climate of America First, shouldn’t Europeans try to change that?” said Ackermann, who ran Deutsche Bank for the 10 years to 2012, in an interview with Bloomberg Television.