Political decision on Deutsche-Commerzbank merger should be made by May: magazine

BERLIN (Reuters) - Berlin and Brussels will decide on a potential merger between Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank before the next European Union elections in May, WirtschaftsWoche magazine reported on Friday, citing an unnamed source.

"If there will be no decision by then, the subject will be over," the source told the German magazine, adding that after the European elections, politicians in Brussels and Berlin would be tied up with internal processes, hindering decision making.

WirtschaftsWoche said Germany and the EU needed to coordinate on the matter because a potential merger could entail action by the German state which could be seen as state aid.

In an interview with the Financial Times published on Friday, German Finance Minster Olaf Scholz reiterated that Germany needed a home-grown banking champion to accompany German companies on global markets.

"We . . . need German banks that can develop the ability, competence and strength to accompany globally active German companies on global markets," the paper quoted him as saying.

(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; editing by Darren Schuettler)