A senior German banker said there a several reasons why a takeover of Commerzbank AG by UniCredit SpA could be beneficial, demonstrating that the strong opposition to the potential deal by the country’s government isn’t a national consensus.

UniCredit is working for closer financial integration in Europe, a mandatory step if the bloc's economy wants to address its yawning output gap with the United States, CEO Andrea Orcel said on Tuesday.

Italy’s UniCredit won’t seek a seat on Commerzbank’s supervisory board despite a recent move to become the German bank’s biggest shareholder, UniCredit’s chief executive said Wednesday.