Deutsche, Commerzbank merger criticized over concerns of 'large national champion'

An economic advisor to the German government, Isabel Schnabel, said on Tuesday she strongly advised against a possible merger of Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank. "I would strongly advise against creating an even larger national champion," she said, adding that cost savings would probably not be easy to achieve, it was not clear the deal would make business sense and that it would exacerbate the "implicit state guarantee".