Commerzbank to Decide Whether to Advance Merger on Tuesday: Wiwo

(Bloomberg) -- Commerzbank AG’s management board will decide on Tuesday to either intensify merger talks with rival Deutsche Bank AG or break off the discussions, according to a report by the weekly Wirtschaftswoche.

The board will discuss how to proceed at a regular meeting set for April 9, the report said, citing supervisory board sources and a meeting agenda.

A spokesman for Commerzbank declined to comment on the report.

Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank announced last month they’re in talks about a potential merger. Deutsche Bank Supervisory Board Chairman Paul Achleitner recently said that the bank will make a public update on where the talks are headed by the lender’s next earnings release, scheduled for April 26.

Commerzbank Chief Executive Officer Martin Zielke recently said in a memo to staff that he wants to reach a decision quickly. The bank’s staff and labor union representatives have been vocal in their strong opposition to the idea of merging the two banks.

To contact the reporter on this story: Steven Arons in Frankfurt at sarons@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net, Ross Larsen, Keith Campbell

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