The major Dutch bank ING is focusing on mergers and acquisitions with a digital profile.

However, this criterion does not apply to Commerzbank, Group CEO Steven van Rijswijk told Reuters on Thursday. A very large restructuring was out of the question for the time being. "There also needs to be a digital competitive spirit, because if another bank's culture is based on a purely physical presence and is not digital, it doesn't work," he explained. "If you transfer that to a company like Commerzbank - I think you know the answer." The background to this are statements made by German Finance Minister Christian Lindner in January, according to which the federal government is not averse to selling its 15 percent stake in Commerzbank. However, no concrete plans are currently known.

(Report by Gianluca Lo Nostro and Matteo Allievi, written by Philipp Krach; edited by Hans Busemann; If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets)).