Deutsche Bank AG said yesterday it was in wide-ranging co-operation talks with rival Dresdner Bank AG and that, while the outcome of negotiations remained open, they were at an advanced stage.
"Deutsche and Dresdner are holding talks with the aim of a wide-ranging co-operation," Deutsche Bank spokesman Dierk Hartwig told Reuters. "The talks are at an advanced stage."
In today's edition, the German daily Bild reports that Deutsche, Germany's biggest bank, and Dresdner, the country's third largest, are on the verge of sealing a merger that would create the world's biggest bank, with total assets of around 2.5 trillion marks (€1.28 trillion).
Citing a report from the next edition of Germany's Man- ager magazine, Bild reports that the planned merger between the two banks, which together have more than 10 million customers, would involve the spin-off of retail banking activities to insurer Allianz AG , a major shareholder in both banks.
Asked if the talks could lead to a merger, the spokesman for Deutsche said: "There is no more to say at the moment." Nobody at Dresdner Bank was immediately available for comment.
