Commerzbank

Bettina Orlopp is expected to be replaced soon in the course of ongoing takeover talks with UniCredit. UniCredit apparently prefers Michael Diederich, but candidates such as Stefan Barth, Stefan Ermisch, Jörg Frischholz or Marion Höllinger are also being mentioned as possible successors. Replacing the board would require an extraordinary general meeting and the dismissal of the current supervisory board, which could mean a further escalation in the takeover drama. » More on wiwo.de

Bettina Orlopp is likely to lose her position as Commerzbank CEO soon after progress in takeover talks with Unicredit. Unicredit is said to see Michael Diederich as its preferred successor, but Stefan Barth, Stefan Ermisch, Jörg Frischholz and Marion Höllinger are also being mentioned. All candidates bring restructuring experience; they differ in age, familiarity with Unicredit and political or works-council acceptability. A formal board change would only be possible via an extraordinary general meeting, which could further escalate the situation. » More on wiwo.de

RBC lowers the price target for Commerzbank from 43 to 40 euros and downgrades the stock from "Outperform" to "Sector Perform". Analyst Anke Reingen slightly raised her estimates, but higher equity costs and uncertainty due to Unicredit plans led to a lower target. The shares fell in XETRA trading by about 1.9 percent at times. » More on finanzen.net