Commerzbank in focus: JPMorgan raises share price – takeover fantasies increase!

The US bank JPMorgan has upgraded Commerzbank shares from “Neutral” to “Overweight” after the Italian Unicredit acquired shares in Commerzbank. Analyst Kian Abouhossein interprets this step as a sign of Unicredit’s willingness to take over and sees it as the start of a possible M&A (mergers and acquisitions) cycle in the European banking sector. He emphasizes that Commerzbank is “clearly in the game” and is therefore becoming the focus of possible takeovers.

In parallel, the European Central Bank (ECB) has responded to falling inflation in the euro area by cutting the deposit rate by 0.25 percentage points to 3.5 percent. This rate cut is part of a monetary policy launched in June 2024 to support the economy. Lagarde, the President of the ECB, expressed caution about further interest rate moves, but stressed that inflation in the euro area has fallen to 2.2 percent, the lowest level since summer 2021. Despite the positive development in inflation, the economic situation in the euro area remains weak, with growth forecast at just 0.8 percent for 2024.