Deutsche Bank, Europe’s prominent financial institution, is apparently set to announce merger talks with Commerzbank. It has been reported that the two largest banks in Germany are gaining pace and the planned formal disclosure of talks between them has increased the probability of a successful tie-up.

For the record, Deutsche bank has a market value of around 16 billion euros and Commerzbank holds a market valuation of over 9 billion euros. The merger has long been a subject of speculation and has been pushed by the German government owing to the health concerns regarding Deutsche, which has struggled to gain feasible profits since 2008 financial crises.

Reportedly, the German government still holds more than 15% of stake in Commerzbank following a bailout. According to the German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, there are negotiations even though the banks have not commented anything publicly on the merger talks.

Sources with knowledge on the matter have mentioned that the supervisory boards of both the banks are soon to hold long-planned meetings. In these meetings, it is expected that the status of merger negotiations would be discussed.

The Verdi labour union in Germany has opposed a merger between the two banks strongly, saying that Deutsche and Commerzbank together employ 140,000 people worldwide and a merger would present the risk of losing almost ten thousand jobs. Further, the merged group would supposedly become an appealing target for hostile takeover from a foreign rival.

According to Deutsche Bank’s chief executive officer Christian Sewing, the bank would prefer more time to get stabilized before proceeding to merger. A successful tie-up of the two renowned banks would create the fourth largest lender in Europe, with net worth of about 1.81 trillion euros, including assets like investments and loans. In 2016, the International Monetary Fund had termed Deutsche Bank as being the biggest risk to the financial system.