Frank Bsirske 'more than sceptical' on Deutsche/Commerzbank merger

Frank Bsirske, chief of the Verdi labour union and a supervisory board member at Deutsche Bank, is "more than sceptical" about the prospect of a merger of that bank with Commerzbank, he said on Monday.

He reiterated that he saw 20,000-30,000 job cuts in the event of a merger and said a possible conflict with unions over any merger could present significant costs to the banks.

"We will watch this very critically, and also with an eye to our possibilities in the supervisory boards of Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank," Bsirske told reporters. "No one can reasonably expect that this will just be watched from the sidelines if 20,000 to 30,000 jobs are at risk."