A meeting between Commerzbank and UniCredit bankers on Friday will be held virtually in the morning, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The meeting is a first round of talks between the two banks as the Italian lender presses for a possible tie-up and Commerzbank hones its defence.

A merger between UniCredit SpA and Commerzbank AG is likely, despite opposition from the German government, according to analysts at Citigroup Inc.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Six European Central Bank policymakers told Reuters they were broadly in favour of a tie-up between Italy's UniCredit and Germany's Commerzbank and viewed Berlin's opposition to a deal as running against the principle of European integration.