(Alliance News) - As discussions regarding a potential merger continue, UniCredit and Commerzbank are collaborating on an industrial level, as reported Friday by Milano Finanza. The German lender's Polish subsidiary, mBank, is working with the Piazza Gae Aulenti-based bank on a significant risk transfer transaction involving a EUR1.2 billion real estate loan portfolio.

Commerzbank's objective is to optimize its balance sheet and free up regulatory capital to support CEO Bettina Orlopp's independence strategy, which aims to reduce risk-weighted assets by EUR13 billion by 2028.

UniCredit, despite pursuing a move viewed as hostile by Frankfurt's leadership, is acting here as an advisor, a role it has previously held for other groups such as Bawag and Pko Bank Polski.

In parallel, the bank led by Andrea Orcel remains hyperactive in the market: it has just provided EUR115 million in financing to the Zefiro Fund and successfully placed a EUR1.0 billion senior bond, attracting orders nearly four times the initial offer.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News reporter

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