Commerzbank and UniCredit hold second round of investor talks, source says

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BERLIN (Reuters) -Commerzbank and UniCredit held a round of investor talks this week, a person briefed on the matter said on Friday, the second such interaction since Italy’s No. 2 bank disclosed in September that it had snapped up a significant stake in the German lender.

Commerzbank CEO Bettina Orlopp was on the call, but not her counterpart at UniCredit, Andrea Orcel, the person said on condition of anonymity.

It was not immediately clear who represented UniCredit. A spokesperson for UniCredit was not immediately available for comment.

The person said the discussion focused on Commerzbank’s earnings in the third quarter.

Handelsblatt first reported that the call took place and that a possible tie-up was not discussed.

Orlopp said last week that an investor call with UniCredit would take place soon.

The first such talk was in September.

(Reporting by Tom Sims, Miranda Murray and Valentina Za; Editing by Sarah Marsh, Sabine Wollrab and Louise Heavens)