ML-Implode News - As ECB Distorts Eurozone Banking, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank held talks about tie-up

Top executives of Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank held talks on a potential combination of Germany's two biggest banks earlier this month, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
However, the two lenders have shelved the project as they want to complete their restructurings before taking any steps in the direction of a merger, the source said.
...
Some analysts have argued that Deutsche would be advised to find a partner once it has stabilized its business, cut costs, and put capital and regulatory concerns behind it.

Both Deutsche and Commerzbank - the two biggest lenders in Europe's biggest economy - have been slipping down the rankings of the continent's top banks, hamstrung by a fragmented and competitive home market, growing regulation and negative interest rates.

And here's the real story:

German banks have almost exclusively focused on earning money from charging a margin on the difference between short-term borrowing and long-term lending, using the revenue to subsidize retail and payments operations that were low-cost and often free for customers.

ECB money printing has exposed the flaws in that strategy, forcing some banks to try to charge for services or even deposits, until recently a taboo in Germany.

Mergers among banks could help remove capacity, increasing banks' pricing power and opening the way to healthier profits.

So thanks to ZIRP and NIRP, the ECB is pushing banks to consolidate and nickle-and-dime consumers on fees. None of this is "natural" or even remotely "free market" at all... and thus, we can see how the ECB and other central banks are actually demolishing free markets and upending the natural order of things.

Relevant:

As ECB Distorts Eurozone Banking, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank held talks about tie-up