The two-page letter from the DBV states that common ground for negotiation has effectively vanished. This stance mirrors an internal message from Commerzbank’s workers council, which formally rejected UniCredit’s advances earlier this week. Union officials explicitly cautioned that a premature merger could serve as a ticking time bomb for both the German financial sector and the broader European market.

Despite the hostility from German management and government officials, UniCredit maintains it intends to engage constructively with all relevant stakeholders, including the bank’s workforce. The standoff highlights a deep rift between the Italian buyer and the domestic institutions tasked with overseeing the potential consolidation of the two major banking entities.