Deutsche Bank downplays crisis
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Ackermann attempts to calm fears of a bank collapse in Germany
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LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Deutsche Bank's Chief Executive Josef Ackermann played down the prospect of a German banking crisis while ruling out a big merger with a rival in the near term, the Financial Times reported on Monday.
Ackermann, chief executive of the healthiest private-sector bank in Germany, was attempting to calm fears of a bank collapse in Germany and that he would take advantage of rival banks with bad loans to mount a takeover.
"There is no liquidity or capital crisis. What we have is an issue of profitability," he told the paper in an interview. "No bank will fail. Banks are strong enough (to withstand the shock of war in Iraq)," he added.
He is concerned Deutsche may be weakened by any involvement in a private sector banking rescue, heightened by an expectation among investors and bankers that he is bent on securing a transforming merger either in Europe or with a U.S. bank.
"Right now investors say 'don't do anything foolish,'" he said. "That is the message I get everywhere. Our valuation is not good enough to do a big transaction, domestically or internationally. Right now, it's not a good time for that.
"We have to defend our double-A rating, vital to many of our businesses, and our valuation. In my view the biggest contribution Deutsche can make to Germany is to be as big and as profitable as possible.
"In the end, only a strong bank can be a reliable partner for business. It is in Germany's interests to have one bank with global ambitions," he added.
