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.

Commerzbank's Chief Executive Officer said on Tuesday that the Italian bank UniCredit "might want more" of Commerzbank and that "this wasn't something we chose". She made the comments in a video statement to staff during her first day on the job as the bank's new CEO.

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.