UniCredit SpA Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel touted the benefits of a combination with Commerzbank AG to the Italian bank’s staff in Germany, indicating that a deal wouldn’t result in deep immediate changes for UniCredit’s existing operations in the country.
The acquisition “would only potentially affect HVB in the medium term, with a combination that would be much ‘softer’ than many expect,” Orcel said in an internal memo sent last week, referring to UniCredit’s German unit. The integration of Commerzbank and HVB “would occur only after a period in which Commerzbank would be independently improved, applying our blue print while HVB continued on its own trajectory.”