In the midst of the takeover dispute with the Italian UniCredit, the sought-after Commerzbank is changing its CEO. Chief Financial Officer Bettina Orlopp is moving to the top and will replace Manfred Knof “in the near future”.
In the midst of the takeover battle with UniCredit, Commerzbank is making a new appointment to the top of the group. The supervisory board has decided to appoint CFO Bettina Orlopp as CEO, the Frankfurt-based institute announced. She is to replace the current CEO Manfred Knof “in the near future”. At the same time, Corporate Banking Director Michael Kotzbauer will become the bank’s new deputy CEO. The exact timing of the change was not disclosed.
Major investors demanded a quick decision on UniCredit
With Orlopp, “an ideal successor has been found at the top of Commerzbank,” said Supervisory Board Chairman Jens Weidmann. “Especially in the current phase of the bank, clear responsibilities are crucial. My sincere thanks go to Manfred Knof, without whose assertiveness and strategic vision the bank would not be as successful today.” At the beginning of September, the Frankfurt-based DAX group surprisingly announced that the 59-year-old would fulfill his contract, which expires at the end of 2025, but would not extend it.
Knof has led the bank since 2021 and has driven the restructuring of Commerzbank – including the elimination of thousands of jobs. Under his leadership, the bank managed to turn things around and achieved record profits in 2023, thanks in part to the rise in interest rates. But with the entry of the major Italian bank UniCredit shortly afterwards, which is taking on Commerzbank, Germany’s second-largest private bank came under pressure. Major investors such as the fund company Deka pushed for a speedy clarification of the management board issue. In this critical phase, Commerzbank needs clarity, it was said.
UniCredit recently made a surprise large-scale investment in the bank. Most recently, they secured the option to increase their stake from nine to 21 percent through financial instruments. This would make the Italians by far the largest shareholder in the bank – ahead of the federal government, which holds around twelve percent. At the same time, UniCredit applied for official permission to increase its stake to up to 29.9 percent. This makes an official takeover offer for Commerzbank more likely.
Orlopp against the UniCredit takeover
The German government has decided not to sell any more Commerzbank shares until further notice. It rejects the takeover attempt by UniCredit. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) spoke of an “unfriendly attack”. However, according to internal assessments, the government sees no legal recourse. “Legally, we can’t do anything,” a person familiar with the traffic light coalition’s deliberations told Reuters yesterday. But the government’s assessment naturally carries weight. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said her government was staying out of the matter.
Commerzbank itself warned the German government that a possible merger with UniCredit could pose a “threat to companies in Europe”. The future CEO Orlopp is also said to According to a report by the Financial Times (FT) be against a takeover. Arguments include that it would affect Commerzbank’s lending to small and medium-sized German companies and that integrating the two banks could take years, people familiar with the situation told the FT.
Orlopp has long been considered a hot candidate to succeed Knof. The former Vice-CEO has been working for Commerzbank since 2014 and has been a member of the Executive Board since autumn 2017. Before that, she was a partner at the management consultancy McKinsey. The business economist and mother of two once described herself as a “loyal soul” because she has only worked for two employers in her career. “I am looking forward to this challenging task, which I will take on with respect, but also with great self-confidence and an excellent Executive Board team at my side,” said Orlopp. “We have a strategy that is working, but we also still have big tasks ahead of us.”