Why do businesses think critically about a bank merger?

ATFederal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is behind the merger between the German bank and 17 March. The politician of the SPD, who as mayor of Hamburg, has already had experience of the rise and fall of HSH Nordbank, the world's largest financier in the ships sector, and their rescue with up to 14 billion euros of capital, said in August 2018 that it was a problem for a big economy like Germany, the banks did not " the size and comprehensiveness necessary to accompany the economy ". Signed by Scholz Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank. But is it really true that the local economy suffers from the shortage of global banks? And a merger between Commerzbank and Deutscher Bank really help? And what does the current position of the two banks in the market look like?

Already behind Scholz 's first hypothesis about the missing aggregate of the big German banks, a question mark can be put: Deutsche Bank is undoubtedly a very international bank: it generates 65% of its revenues at the same time. 53,000 of its 92,000 employees work there and 655 branches outside Germany. The Commerzbank is less international, according to a survey conducted by management consultants with members of the German Bundestag accounting for around 30% of their income abroad, ie almost 13,000 out of 49,000 employees working outside the German Bundestag. # 39; Germany.

In terms of commercial financing for export-oriented companies, Deutsche Bank's market penetration among European banks is only behind the French bank BNP Paribas, while Commerzbank still ranks fifth behind Unicredit and HSBC. Thanks to its international payment and liquidity solutions ("cash management"), Deutsche Bank is the third largest bank in Europe behind BNP Paribas and HSBC, while Commerzbank still has a long way to go. In a nutshell, the two banks are already leading in the most important business sectors for the export sector, but together they could be even stronger. Above all, it would be important for both banks to work on their fundamental problem: they lack efficiency and profitability.

Bad example of the financial crisis

But the big German companies do not want to be financed by a strong bank, but by several. A merger of Deutscher Bank and Commerzbank would therefore be at least double-edged, as would F.A.Z. shows in company. Many do not want to comment on the subject, probably because there are often business relationships with at least one of the institutes. And if so, then they remain vague, as shown by the statement of the car supplier Continental. "As a global player, Continental relies on an international banking consortium with a strong presence in our key markets, which of course applies to our head office in Germany as well," says the Hannover-based company. Although she shows a cautiously positive attitude towards the merger, she resonates with: Yes, it is good to have a strong German bank at her side. But we do not put everything on an address anyway, but extend our risks to several banks.