Germany’s chancellor decried “unfriendly attacks” on banks after UniCredit moved to raise its stake in the lender.

UniCredit acquired the additional Commerzbank shares through financial instruments and has submitted a request to boost the holding to up to 29.9%. The German government, a major shareholder of Commerzbank,

Things hit fever pitch on Monday after Italy’s UniCredit, led by veteran dealmaker Andrea Orcel, announced out of the blue that it had entered into derivatives transactions that would raise its stake in Germany’s second-largest bank to 21 percent, making it the largest shareholder.