DB chair wants more bank mergers

Deutsche Bank chairman Josef Ackermann has called on the European banking industry to face up to the threat of US banking dominance by setting up a number of cross border mergers.

He urged Europe's banks to urgently consider such proposals in the interest of businesses in Europe and the interest of shareholders and shareholder value.

Ackermann said Deutsche Bank did not have the strength to undertake a merger deal on its own terms.

He also said that if German banks were involved in a cross-border deal, the current bad business conditions in the country would mean no merged entity would choose Germany as its headquarters.