Volkswacht Bodensee - UniCredit CEO says prepared to wait on Commerzbank decision

"At this point, patience is the most important point because we need to execute on our plan, get it done well," said UniCredit chief executive Andrea Orcel Wednesday.

Given longer-than-expected deadlines for the necessary authorisations, Orcel said he was prepared to "sit and see."

"And by the end of the period, which is 2027, determine whether this is good," he told a conference organised by Morgan Stanley in London.

Orcel's comments came nearly a week after the European Central Bank (ECB) gave the green light to the Italian bank raising its stake in its German rival to 29.9 percent.

Last week, Orcel said any decision over Commerzbank could come "well beyond the end of 2025."

Both Commerzbank and Berlin are against any takeover by UniCredit, which has been building up a stake in the German bank since September, fuelling market speculation that Orcel intended to push for an ambitious pan-European banking merger.

Asked about the outlook for mergers and acquisitions in Europe's banking sector, Orcel said Wednesday he was "less positive" than he was at the end of 2024, due to long lead times associated with such transactions.

T.Zimmermann--VB