Rumors have been swirling around JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) and Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB), suggesting that the US bank was interested in a stake in the German giant.
German magazine WirtschaftsWoche said that JPMorgan and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China were interested in investing in Deutsche Bank, according to a Reuters report.
The publication alleged that Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Alex Weber, the chairman of Swiss bank UBS and the former head of Bundesbank.
JPMorgan and the German government have squashed the gossip, stating that there is no truth to the claims.
"We are denying the story, it is not true,” stated a JPMorgan spokeswoman.
"We were astonished to learn about the report about a supposed conversation between the chancellor and Mr. Weber. It is purely speculative and cannot be confirmed,” said government spokesman Steffen Seibert in a news conference.
Seibert added that the German government has full trust in the flagship bank.
Shares of JPMorgan were up slightly to US$104.45 while shares of Deutsche Bank were up nearly 4% to US$11.52 in Friday pre-market trading.
Contact Lenore Fedow at lenore@proactiveinvestors.com
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