Orlopp rules out cross-border mergers without EU banking union completion

European banking consolidation cannot happen without the banking union and the EU Deposit Insurance Scheme being put in place first, Commerzbank’s new CEO Bettina Orlopp has said.

Orlopp told The Banker that without the banking union and the EDIS, there were no benefits for Commerzbank in merging with potential suitors such as Italy’s UniCredit, which has acquired a 21 per cent stake in Germany’s second-largest lender over the past few months. But once these requirements are met, she said the bank would seriously consider consolidation opportunities.