UniCredito and HVB confirm they are in merger talks

Italian UniCredito Italiano, owner of Pekao, and German HVB, owner of BPH, confirmed they are negotiating the terms of their merger. However, they stressed that they have not reached any agreement yet, and that the outcome of the talks are still unclear. According to the sources, the negotiations are far more advanced and they should be concluded later this week. "If UniCredito takes over HVB, than we will be the consolidating entity in Poland," said a source in Pekao. If the merger goes through, than it would see the emergence of the largest institution in Poland with value of assets exceeding zł.111 billion and market value exceeding zł.37 billion. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 11) M.M.