west Lb (qualche cosa si muove)
Jan 7 (Reuters) - German state-backed bank WestLB [WDLG.UL] is mulling a further drastic cut to its business to comply with European Union restructuring demands, financial and political sources told Reuters on Friday.
Under an "extreme scenario", WestLB would shrink its balance sheet by up to 40 percent and slash more jobs, the people said, adding that no decisions have been taken yet.
In addition, the German government may inject more capital into WestLB, they added.
Germany's bailout fund Soffin had granted WestLB 3 billion euros ($3.89 billion) in the financial crisis. At the end of September, WestLB's balance sheet stood at 220 billion euros, down from 242 billion a year earlier. [ID:nLDE6B00EU]
WestLB declined to comment.
WestLB is working with the EU to prepare a new restructuring plan by Feb. 15. [ID:nLDE6AE1C1]
In November, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia had warned that WestLB might need to be wound down if it did not drastically overhaul its business model to comply with EU state aid rules. [ID:nLDE6A41G8]
* Landesbanks to sell their Deka stakes-sources
* Deal prerequisite for 3-way merger of Deka, WestLB, Helaba
* Merger may include just parts of WestLB-banker
* WestLB mulling new cuts to meet EU demands
(Adds sources on WestLB restructuring)
FRANKFURT, Jan 7 (Reuters) - German fund manager Deka [DSUGUD.UL] is nearing a deal with its shareholders that could pave the way for the creation of a new big public-sector lender, several people familiar with the matter said on Friday.
A deal would combine Deka with public-sector bank Helaba [HLHTG.UL], parts of WestLB [WDLG.UL] and potentially even Landesbank Berlin (BEBG.DE), the people said.
As a prerequisite to such a merger, dubbed the "middle (Germany) model" for consolidation of German state-controlled landesbanks, Deka would change its ownership structure.
German municipally owned savings banks are to buy the Deka stakes currently owned by landesbanks in a deal that values Deka at 4.7 billion euros ($6.2 billion), the sources close to the Deka owners said on Friday.
"This (Deka deal) ends uncertainty over Deka's ownership structure that has been a hurdle for merger talks," one of the people said.
Separately, WestLB is mulling a further drastic cut to its business to comply with European Union restructuring demands and boost its appeal to possible buyers, government and company sources told Reuters.
Under an "extreme scenario", WestLB would shrink its balance sheet by up to 40 percent and slash roughly 1000 more jobs, one of the people said, adding that no decisions have been taken yet.
"It makes sense to divest of units -- for example the project financing business -- that a potential buyer of WestLB would not want," the a person added.
Additionally, the German government may inject more capital -- maybe around 1 billion euros -- into WestLB, the person added.
Germany's bailout fund Soffin granted WestLB 3 billion euros in the financial crisis, although there had been talk at the time of the fund's giving as much as 4 billion.
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The government and some WestLB owners may use their bargaining power to push through a tie-up of WestLB with Helaba and Deka, according to sources close to the government and one of the owners.
"They may make their approval of the Deka deal contingent on getting support for the merger," one of the sources said.
Although resistance to landesbank consolidation efforts has been high in the past, sources close to some savings bank organisations -- co-owners of most landesbanks -- said that they were open to finding such a solution.
WestLB is working with the EU to prepare a new restructuring plan by Feb. 15. [ID:nLDE6AE1C1]
In November, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia warned that WestLB might need to be wound down if it did not drastically overhaul its business model to comply with EU state aid rules. [ID:nLDE6A41G8]
Banking experts acknowledge that a tie-up of WestLB, Deka and Helaba would make sense.
"Deka is an apt nucleus for the so called 'middle model'," said Wolfgang Gerke, president of thinktank Bavarian Financial Centre, referring to a possible combination with Helaba and WestLB.
But others warn that the path to a merger will be rocky.
"If at all, I can imagine a combination of parts of WestLB -- like its capital markets business -- with Deka and Helaba, I do not see a solution including the complete WestLB," said a Frankfurt-based investment banker who declined to be named.
WestLB's board is expected to meet next week to discuss options for the bank and its restructuring plan.
Deka will use 1 billion of its own funds to buy back stakes held by landesbanks, and the savings banks will stump up another 1.3 billion euros.
"The talks on the purchase of Deka stakes by the savings banks are on a very good path," a spokesman for the DSGV savings bank organization said.
Deka and the landesbanks declined to comment. (Reporting by Arno Schuetze, Matthias Inverardi, Matthias Sobolewski, Kathrin Jones; Editing by David Cowell) ($1=.7609 Euro)
By Karin Matussek
Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Potential buyers of state-owned
WestLB AG must deliver their bids by Jan. 10, Die Welt reported,
citing unidentified people close to the matter.
Germany’s bank rescue fund Soffin will continue with its
intention of selling the lender as a whole, despite a Feb. 15
deadline requiring Soffin to present a new restructuring plan
for the lender to the European Commission, the newspaper said in
a preview of an article to appear in tomorrow’s edition.
The restructuring plan isn’t completed, and could entail
splitting up WestLB and selling it in parts, Die Welt said.