However, the banking giants decided not to go ahead with the transaction, as they currently focus on restructuring their operations, a person familiar with the discussions told Bloomberg.
Deutsche Bank chief executive officer John Cryan and his counterpart at Commerzbank, Martin Zielke were involved in exploratory talks regarding a tie-up.
Deutsche Bank chief financial officer Marcus Schenck led a group of executives weighing the proposal, the publication reported.
The merger would allow the Germany’s top two lenders to integrate their consumer businesses, gaining a chance to trim costs, and form a bigger organisation that would be more competitive.
But the banks finalized to concentrate on their current restructuring processes before go for a merger deal.
In his speech at the conference in Frankfurt, hosted by the Handelsblatt newspapar, Cryan said that the “German banking sector did need consolidation.”
Cryan was quoted by Financial Times as saying: “There are simply too many banks in Germany. Unlike in Spain, France or northern Europe, there has never been a major move towards mergers. The result: fewer economies of scale, more competition, higher price pressures.”
Last month, Deutsche Bank warned that it may go for “deeper cost cuts” to make a turnaround after it reported a sharp decline in revenue for the second quarter due to challenging market environment and the implementation of strategic decisions.
The German lender’s profit plunged 98% to €20m in the April-June quarter compared to the same quarter a year earlier.
In June, Deutsche Bank announced to cut 3,000 jobs and close 188 branches in the country, as part of its restructuring strategy outlined last year.
Image: Deutsche Bank in Beijing – China. Photo coutesy of Deutsche Bank.
