Europe Needs Bigger Banks, Cross-Border M&A, Top Official Says

Europe needs bigger banks and more cross-border mergers, a top euro-area official said when asked about UniCredit SpA’s potential acquisition of Commerzbank AG.

“We need European rather than national champions and yes, we need more banking consolidation in Europe, we need more cross-border M&As,” Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pierrakakis told reporters in Brussels on Monday.

He spoke as UniCredit ramps up efforts to take over Germany’s second-biggest lender. The Italian bank has been pursuing Commerzbank since September 2024, though the German institution and the government in Berlin have rebuffed advances. A combination would make UniCredit a major force in ...