German official calls UniCredit move on Commerzbank 'aggressive' and 'unwise'

A top German official criticised UniCredit's surprise swoop on Commerzbank as 'aggressive' and 'unwise' on Wednesday, cautioning of the risk posed by a hostile takeover and reiterating the government's determination to fend it off.

German finance ministry state secretary Florian Toncar's comments are the latest ratcheting up of pressure on UniCredit to abort its bid to merge with Commerzbank.

"It is not wise to proceed too aggressively with a large, highly regulated, complex bank," Toncar said after a closed-door meeting with lawmakers explaining the government's role.

"You always need the stakeholders in the end," he told journalists as the German government faced growing criticism over its handling of a partial sale of the state's stake in the lender that triggered the Italian bank's move.

"The approach chosen, with its strong focus on surprise, concerns many stakeholders who are important for Commerzbank," Toncar added.

Commerzbank, with more than 25,000 business customers, almost a third of German foreign trade payments and more than 42,000 staff, is a linchpin of the German economy, Europe's industrial motor.

The German government still owns 12% of Commerzbank after selling 4.5% of its shares to UniCredit.

Toncar outlined the circumstances around the sale of the stake in the meeting with lawmakers.

Kay Gottschalk, a lawmaker from the ultra-conservative AfD party who attended the meeting, said the government had been naive and mishandled the stake sale.

"The government bears full responsibility. To cause such a disaster for the sake of just 700 million euros has to carry consequences," he told Reuters.

Germany has decided not to sell any more shares, while Commerzbank is battling to stay independent.