ECB's Take on UniCredit and Commerzbank Merger

(Reuters) – The European Central Bank should evaluate any deal between Italian lender UniCredit and Germany's Commerzbank purely based on the solidity of the resulting bank rather than national interests, according to ECB policymaker and Bank of Italy Governor Fabio Panetta, speaking on Wednesday.

UniCredit is pursuing a merger with Commerzbank despite facing political opposition in Berlin and requiring ECB approval, the euro zone's top banking authority.

Panetta stated, "The assessment on that deal should be based only on the strength of the entity which would be formed through the merger. There should be no discussion on nationalities. There is no match between Italy and Germany. This is not soccer."

He expressed confidence that the ECB's supervisory arm, which must currently determine whether UniCredit can increase its stake in Commerzbank to 29.9%, will base its evaluation on an "objective analysis."

Additionally, ECB's top supervisor Claudia Buch indicated last week that decisions will reflect "the prospects for stability and resilience" of the banks involved.