German hopes of creating a national banking champion able to challenge global competitors were dashed on Thursday when Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank ended merger talks due to the risks of doing a deal, restructuring costs and capital demands.
Germany’s two largest banks announced that nearly six weeks of high-level negotiations about a tie-up had ended in failure, confirming an earlier Reuters report and immediately raising questions about the future of the Frankfurt-based rivals.
The decision to ditch the talks followed a final early morning meeting between Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Christian Sewing and his Commerzbank counterpart Martin Zielke, two sources told Reuters.
