EU competition commissioner Ribera urges member states to back cross-border bank mergers for the single market
EU competition chief Teresa Ribera urged member states to back cross-border bank mergers, calling them urgently needed to complete the single market and fund Europe's green and digital transition. Her push follows Germany's resistance to UniCredit's bid for Commerzbank.
The European Union's competition commissioner, Teresa Ribera, has called on member states to actively support cross-border bank mergers, arguing they are urgently needed to complete the single market, strengthen European competitiveness and help finance the trillions of euros required for the green and digital transition. Speaking at a conference, she said completing the single market remains one of the most pressing priorities for Europe's competitiveness and that mergers among large European banks would help move in that direction. Her comments carry a clear political subtext. They follow Germany's continued resistance to UniCredit's $UCG pursuit of Commerzbank $CBK, where the Italian lender has built a prospective stake of nearly 38 percent while Berlin and Commerzbank's management have opposed a full takeover. Ribera pointedly criticized the contradiction in which European leaders demand globally competitive champions but decline to back the consolidation that would create them. The tension reflects a deeper unresolved question in the European banking union. Regulators including the European Central Bank have repeatedly signaled support for cross-border consolidation as a way to build banks capable of competing with American and Asian rivals, yet national governments continue to treat their largest lenders as strategic assets to be protected. How this standoff resolves will signal whether Europe's single market for banking is real or aspirational.