(22 November 2015 – Germany) Germany’s two largest cooperative banks have announced plans to merge by August 2016.
The merger of DZ Bank and WGZ Bank will create the country’s third-largest bank by total assets, behind Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG.
DZ Bank and WGZ Bank said they expect annual synergies of at least €100 million (A$147 million) from the joint business, which be called DZ Bank. It will have total assets of around €500 billion and will be based in Frankfurt.
The merger will be the biggest in Germany’s banking sector, since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, when Commerzbank bought Dresdner Bank.
Together, the companies will be central clearing banks for the more than 1,000 German cooperative banks.