In a response to a question from a member of the Bundestag, German Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) listed the contacts between government representatives and Unicredit representatives in the run-up to the purchase of the stake in Commerzbank. And there were quite a few of them after all.

This was reported by the news agency «Reuters» on Wednesday, referring to a letter from the ministry led by Christian Lindner (FDP) to CDU MP Matthias Hauer.

Telephone Calls Between the Head of Germany and the State Secretary

One of the phone calls mentioned was made on the evening of 10 September 2024 between Florian Toncar, the state secretary for finance, and Marion Höllinger, the head of Unicredit in Germany. The subject of the conversation was said to be information about Unicredit's «existing stake in Commerzbank».

The next day, a 4.5 percent block of Commerzbank shares held by the state was sold to Unicredit. The Italian bank won the auction because it made the highest bid, the ministry announced.

Another telephone conversation between the two had already taken place on 4 September 2024. That was the day after the government announced its intention to sell some of the shares.

Takeover Remains the Goal

In addition to other market acquisitions, the Italian group swiftly secured a 9 percent stake. Meanwhile, the Milan-based company has gained control over additional shares through financial instruments and has publicly stated its intention to pursue a takeover of Commerzbank.

Other contacts mentioned in the letter were a meeting between Jörg Kukies, state secretary in the Chancellery, and Unicredit board chairman Pier Carlo Padoan in May on the fringes of a conference in Paris. There were also contacts with Unicredit chief economist Erik Nielsen from the Chancellery and the Foreign Office.

Since January, Höllinger, head of Germany, has also been a member of the board of directors of the state-owned development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), which also includes several representatives of the federal government.

Scholz and Lindner Left Out

According to the report, however, there were no contacts with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) or Lindner himself.

The letter proves the «lively exchange» between the German government and the Italian bank, said MP Hauer. He urges an investigation into why the government sold the entire stake in Unicredit and not to several investors. «The German government... is acting as if it had nothing to do with the chaos at Commerzbank. But it caused it», he said.