Italian giant UniCredit eyes Commerzbank with German crypto ties

Partially state-owned $20 billion German bank Commerzbank has received acquisition interest from Italian lending giant, UniCredit.

Executives for the two European companies are meeting for initial discussions tomorrow in what could be a significant move to advance crypto in European banking through Commerzbank’s partnership with Deutsche Börse.

Specifically, a subsidiary of Deutsche Börse, Crypto Finance, is working with Commerzbank to offer bitcoin and ether trading for corporate customers in Germany.

UniCredit has not yet proposed a formal bid for Commerzbank. It has, however, increased its equity stake to approximately 21% and has applied for regulatory approval to increase it up to 29.9%.

The German government still owns a 12% stake in Commerzbank and has expressed opposition to the takeover. Certain members of Commerzbank’s board have also voiced opposition to the move.

The crypto impact of a UniCredit-Commerzbank deal

Commerzbank became the first German universal bank to obtain a crypto custody license under the German Banking Act in November 2023.

Crypto Finance, established in 2017, has four licenses from Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority known as BaFin.

Former Deutsche Bank broker to plead guilty to crypto fraud: Bloomberg

Read more: European Central Bank says crypto is dead, but is it?

The potential acquisition, merger, takeover, or otherwise of Commerzbank by UniCredit could advance unification in the European bloc’s famously incomplete banking union.

Specifically, the acquisition could ease ‘sovereign-bank loop’ problems in Germany by creating a cross-border banking entity less tied to a single country’s economy. Despite a shared currency, cross-border banking mergers in Europe remain exceedingly rare.

Its impact on crypto could also be significant, allowing Italian and German companies to access fiat on- and off-ramps for bitcoin and ether via a major banking partner with enviable licenses.

Got a tip? Send us an email or ProtonMail. For more informed news, follow us on X, Instagram, Bluesky, and Google News, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

3 cryptos below $0.2 to outperform Polygon (MATIC) in 2024

Image
Welcome to the world of cryptocurrency, where trends shift rapidly and opportunities abound. In this dynamic landscape, investors are constantly seeking the next big thing. Today, we explore three cryptocurrencies priced below $0.2 that have the potential to outshine even established players like Polygon (MATIC) in 2024. From the meme-fueled momentum of Shiba Inu (SHIB) to the innovative strides of Retik Finance (RETIK) and Stellar's (XLM) promising developments, these gems offer enticing prospects for growth. Let's delve into their potential and what sets them apart. Overview of Polygon (MATIC) and Its Performance Polygon, formerly known as Matic Network, has emerged as a leading layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum, aiming to address the network's scalability issues. With its innovative technology, Polygon provides faster and cheaper transactions, making it an attractive choice for decentralised applications (dApps) and developers. In 2023, Polygon experienced sign...
Read more

Horizen Labs, Offchain Labs, and Arbitrum Foundation Develop Apechain

Horizen Labs, Offchain Labs, and the Arbitrum Foundation have initiated the development of a dedicated blockchain, Apechain. Apechain will utilize APE as its utility and gas tokens, fostering the expansion of the token’s reach. The platforms shared their enthusiasm for the new development while the community accepted the proposal. In a bid to expand the utility and reach of APE coin, Horizen Labs, Offchain Labs, and the Arbitrum Foundation have initiated the development of a dedicated blockchain, Apechain. In a recent revelation, the blockchain platform, Offchain Labs, unearthed the community’s acceptance of the Apechain development proposal, indicated by a more than 50% support rate. Congratulations to @apecoin DAO on its decision to develop ApeChain utilizing the Arbitrum tech stack! With $APE serving as both the gas and governance token for ApeChain, Arbitrum Orbit's customizability empowers @ApeCoin DAO with true ownership and control over this… ...
Read more

First Republic: U.S. Government Coordinates "Urgent Rescue Talks" to Rescue Bank

Image
U.S. officials are reportedly leading urgent talks to rescue First Republic Bank . This comes at a time when private-sector efforts ushered by the bank’s advisers are yet to pocket a finalized deal. Citing three unnamed sources familiar with the matter, a recent Reuters report revealed,   “The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Treasury Department, and the Federal Reserve are among government bodies that have in recent days started to orchestrate meetings with financial companies about putting together a lifeline for the troubled lender.” JUST IN: US Government coordinating urgent meetings to rescue First Republic Bank $ FRC . — Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) April 28, 2023 Also Read: Crypto x Stocks: Is Un-Correlation in Play? At this stage, it is still not clear if the U.S. government is looking to take part in a private-sector rescue of First Republic. Nevertheless, one of the sources reportedly revealed that the government’s engagement has “emboldene...
Read more