Germany’s banking watchdog, BaFin, has taken the unusual step of prohibiting UniCredit from making defamatory statements about the financial health of Commerzbank. The directive comes amidst a months-long takeover bid by the Italian lender for its German rival, marking a significant intervention by the regulator in a heated cross-border financial dispute.
The unprecedented measure by BaFin was prompted by UniCredit’s actions, which included a social media advertisement circulated across Europe calling Commerzbank “neglected, uncertain, short-sighted.” Further instigating the ruling were statements made by UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel to analysts, suggesting that Commerzbank’s “current trajectory will put at risk its survival in the medium term.” BaFin, in its ruling published late on Friday, deemed UniCredit’s advertisements provocative and unobjective, containing “speculation regarding the financial situation of Commerzbank.”
Specifically, BaFin has now prohibited UniCredit from making statements “that portray the current economic situation of the target company or its subsidiaries and their future prospects in a negative, sensationalist, or unobjective manner.” In response, UniCredit issued a statement asserting that the advertisement was “designed to promote the positive vision we have for Commerzbank,” while acknowledging its ambiguity and confirming its removal. The Italian bank also remarked that “some of the rhetoric used to push back on this transaction has been overly aggressive and highly personal in nature from the outset,” suggesting that “it would be in the best interest of all stakeholders for the rhetoric to be toned down.” Commerzbank declined to comment on the BaFin ruling.
