Merger talks heat up for two German banks

Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank have reopened the possibility of a merger between the two banks. Both Christian Sewing, CEO of Deutsche, and Martin Zelke, CEO of Commerzbank, have had multiple conversations over the past few days after their supervisory and management boards received a mandate, according to Bloomberg. German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz has been pushing for a merger as he feels it will create a “national champion” and serve as the country’s backbone of export economy. It’s thought the merger hinges on whether Sewing and Deutsche can boost profits in the first quarter of 2019. Since revenue has shrunk the past eight quarter for Deutsche, Sewing has pledged to make more cost cuts.