Commerzbank's Chief Executive Officer said on Tuesday that the Italian bank UniCredit "might want more" of Commerzbank and that "this wasn't something we chose". She made the comments in a video statement to staff during her first day on the job as the bank's new CEO.

A senior German banker said there a several reasons why a takeover of Commerzbank AG by UniCredit SpA could be beneficial, demonstrating that the strong opposition to the potential deal by the country’s government isn’t a national consensus.

ECB chief Christine Lagarde said Monday that cross-border banking mergers in Europe were "desirable" to boost their competitiveness, despite mounting German opposition to a potential tie-up between Commerzbank and Italy's UniCredit.