UniCredit, France's largest lender, has announced its plans to acquire Commerzbank, stating that there are "too many" European banks.

• On Thursday, Lars Machenil, the Chief Financial Officer of BNP Paribas, expressed his support for increased integration within Europe's banking industry.
• Italy's UniCredit is raising the stakes in its apparent takeover bid for Germany's Commerzbank, while Spain's BBVA is actively pursuing its domestic rival, Banco Sabadell.
• Machenil stated that if he were to inquire about the number of banks in Europe, the correct response would be "too many."

The French finance minister stated on Thursday that the region has too many European lenders, making it difficult to compete with rivals from the U.S. and Asia. He called for the creation of more homegrown heavyweight banking champions.

At the Bank of America Financials CEO Conference, BNP Paribas Chief Financial Officer Lars Machenil expressed his support for increased integration in Europe's banking sector while speaking to CNBC's Charlotte Reed.

Italy's UniCredit is raising the stakes in its apparent takeover bid for Germany's Commerzbank, while Spain's BBVA is actively pursuing its domestic rival, Banco Sabadell.

Machenil stated that if he were to inquire about the number of banks in Europe, the correct response would be "too many."

To achieve the same level of competition as in other regions, we need to consolidate our activities.

UniCredit, based in Milan, has intensified its efforts to acquire a larger stake in Commerzbank, Germany's second-largest lender, with a current 21% ownership.

The potential multibillion-euro merger between Commerzbank and UniCredit has caught German authorities off guard, as UniCredit took a 9% stake in Commerzbank earlier this month.

Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor, has strongly opposed UniCredit's takeover attempt, which he has described as an "unfriendly" and "hostile" attack.

Some have accused Berlin of supporting European banking integration only on its own terms after Germany's stance on UniCredit's acquisition.

Domestic consolidation

Machenil of BNP Paribas stated that although domestic consolidation could help to reduce uncertainty in Europe's banking sector, cross-border integration is still a bit distant due to differences in systems and products.

Machenil responded, "It's two different things," when asked if he believed cross-border banking mergers in Europe were a distant possibility.

"Economically, it makes sense for banks to operate in a nation, but it doesn't make sense for banks to operate in only one country. There are no synergies in such a scenario."

In the beginning of the year, Banco Sabadell was surprised by BBVA's all-share takeover proposal.

Earlier this month, the head of Banco Sabadell stated that it is highly unlikely BBVA will succeed with its multi-billion-euro hostile bid, according to Reuters. However, BBVA CEO Onur Genç told CNBC on Wednesday that the takeover is "moving according to plan."

The Spanish authorities, who possess the authority to obstruct any acquisition or merger of a bank, have expressed their opposition to BBVA's hostile takeover bid, stating that it could have detrimental effects on the country's financial system.