Commerzbank share held by German government not being pondered for sale
The stake in Commerzbank held by the government of Germany will not be sold, according to a newswire report that quoted a government spokesman.
A finance ministry spokesman on Friday told Reuters that there are no plans for such a stake sale. The comments followed a report indicating Banco Santander and Societe Generale were each considering investing in the bank, and that a Societe Generale delegation had met with German government representatives to discuss the possibility of buying its stake.
A report last month by Sueddeutsche Zeitung said that the German government would remain the largest shareholder in Commerzbank at least until 2016. The German daily cited a Federal Ministry of Finance spokesperson who said that the government was not planning to sell its stake. An earlier report had said that German Minister of Finance Wolfgang Schaeuble had turned down several parties interested in the Government’s shareholding. The German Government holds 17% via the bank rescue fund Soffin, it added.
Commerzbank has a market cap of EUR 13.9bn