ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos has attacked Germany's government for opposing Italian lender UniCredit's bid for Commerzbank, warning such interventions contradict the EU single market spirit. UniCredit holds nearly 30% of Commerzbank and launched an all-share offer valuing the German bank at over €35 billion. Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Commerzbank management fiercely oppose the merger.

De Guindos criticized Germany's "very fragmented banking industry" needing modernization amid economic challenges. He positioned the ECB as generally supporting cross-border consolidation, arguing larger European banks can achieve economies of scale and better compete with American rivals. The ECB official described Berlin's opposition as part of a broader pattern of EU nations meddling in business decisions.

In his final interviews before leaving the ECB next month, de Guindos acknowledged the central bank was late to address inflation in 2021-2022. He warned about risks from rising Eurozone government debt, predicting markets will eventually pay more attention to yields and spreads between countries, potentially tightening monetary conditions regardless of ECB policy rates.