Commerzbank to decide on April 9 on merger talks with Deutsche: WiWo

BERLIN (Reuters) - Commerzbank's executive board is due to decide on April 9 whether to intensify merger talks with Deutsche Bank or back away from a deal, German business weekly Wirtschaftswoche said on Wednesday.

The magazine said Commerzbank's management is scheduled to discuss how to proceed in the merger talks during its next regular session, Wirtschaftswoche added, citing company sources and an internal memo.

Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank declined to comment.

Upon initiating formal talks with Deutsche Bank on March 17, Commerzbank chief executive officer Martin Zielke told bankers that management aimed for a decision on whether to go forward with a merger in the next two to three weeks, two sources with knowledge of the matter said at the time.

In a memo to employees days later, Zielke wrote: "I can promise you that we will strive to keep this period of uncertainty as short as possible and we will work hard to ensure that a decision is reached soon."

Deutsche Bank supervisory board chairman Paul Achleitner said that the banks aim to announce more concrete steps on the merger by late April.

(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; additional reporting by Andreas Framke and Tom Sims in Frankfurt; editing by Thomas Seythal and Michelle Martin)