Qatar has no direct say in who runs Deutsche Bank: minister

BERLIN: Qatar has no direct say in who runs Deutsche Bank, the country’s foreign minister said when he was asked on Thursday for Doha’s view on merger talks between Deutsche Bank and fellow German lender Commerzbank.

Some 6.1 percent of the shares in Germany’s troubled lender are owned by two members of Qatar’s wealthy royal family, and the country’s sovereign wealth fund has also previously considered building a stake.

“Qatar invests in many areas in Germany,” said foreign minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani at a press conference after talks with his German counterpart.

“The question of who runs this or that institution is not a matter for Qatar directly or which Qatar decides upon.”

The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) approached financial regulators months ago to seek approval to buy a big stake in Germany’s largest lender, the people said.

But Qatari officials haven’t yet provided the necessary documentation, which could derail the QIA’s investment plans, they said. It was unclear whether the fund had lost interest or whether it was simply taking its time.

The QIA initially expressed an interest taking a stake well before Deutsche Bank announced on March 17 that it was in talks to merge with German rival Commerzbank. The issue is sensitive because the European Central Bank (ECB) may ask Deutsche to raise fresh funds to approve any deal.

Because of the Qatari royal family’s existing stake in Deutsche Bank, an investment by QIA would trigger a standard background check by regulators on the shareholders to determine whether they were acting in concert to exert greater influence on the bank.