Finance

Germany Knew UniCredit Had Commerzbank Stake, Orcel Says

WATCH: Orcel discusses the next steps for the Italian bank after it increased its stake in Germany’s Commerzbank to 9%.Source: Bloomberg

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By Sonia Sirletti, Francine Lacqua, and Kamil Kowalcze

September 12, 2024 at 10:38 AM UTC

Updated on

September 12, 2024 at 2:19 PM UTC

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UniCredit SpA’s investment in Commerzbank AG shouldn’t have come as a surprise to the relevant parties, the Italian lender’s Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel said in a bid to address some concerns after disclosing a 9% stake in the German bank.

The German government was “well aware” that UniCredit had already built up a 4.5% stake in Commerzbank before buying the additional holdings directly from the German state earlier this week, Orcel said in a Bloomberg Television interview on Thursday.