New German Finance Chief Slams UniCredit’s Commerzbank Approach
- Kukies calls Italian lender’s ‘unfriendly move’ inappropriate
- Government in Berlin reacted angrily to acquisition of stake
Joerg Kukies in Berlin on Nov. 12.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Germany’s new finance minister used his first public speech since taking office to voice sharp criticism of the tactics UniCredit SpA used in building a major stake in Commerzbank AG.
“Aggressively investing in a systemically important bank like Commerzbank using unfriendly methods and without cooperation is not an appropriate approach,” Joerg Kukies, who was appointed last week after Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired his predecessor, said Tuesday at an economic forum in Berlin.