Deals

Commerzbank Back in Play Could Trigger a Round of European Bank Mergers

  • ING, UniCredit seen as potential suitors for No. 2 German bank
  • Cross-border deals could stumble on politics, regulations

Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg

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The collapse of a potential Deutsche Bank AG-Commerzbank AG combination sets the stage for an era of matchmaking by European financiers.

Commerzbank -- the smaller of the German lenders -- represents a possible target for ING Groep NV and UniCredit SpA. The largest euro zone banks by market value, Banco Santander SA and BNP Paribas SA, could also get into the contest.